”there met him two possessed with devils” - The Prelude of the Start of the End of the World

 

A Museum around Tokyo 

The Prelude of the Start of the End of the World

Another pandemic could occur at any time since the Spanish Flu had occurred in 1918.  It is because a pandemic needs the poultry industry and the hog raising industry, high-density residential environments such as modern cities, and global-scale distribution of goods and transportation of passengers.  When these conditions were met, the 1918 Spanish Flu really occurred.

But, through WWII, the Cold War, and the War on Terror, this scale of pandemics never occurred until 2020.

From this point of view, the 1918 Spanish Flu was a bad omen for WWII (and subsequent incidents) where grave atrocities such as the massacre of Jewish people, the use of atomic bombs, the Japanese kamikaze suicide attacks, etc. were implemented by the mankind.  And, as aftermaths of WWII, a despotic communist government was established and consolidated in China following Russia.

In this context, everything that has happened between 1918 and 2020 can be regarded as having been warned of by the 1918 Spanish Flu where more than 500 million people were infected and 40 million people were killed by viruses according to WHO's estimation.

So then, what is being warned of by the 2020 corona-pandemic that is going on with the current number of global deaths of yet less than a million?  At least, we had better think that the era based on the warning by the 1918 Spanish Flu has been over and another era has begun.

Immediately before the 2020 pandemic, the American society was being split due to biased political behaviors of President Trump; China was increasing its egocentric influence on the world with its economic power under President Xi; Russia was strengthening its militarism under leadership President Putin; and the EU was losing its ideal with the UK exiting based on selfish interest while facing the rise of Islamic terrorism and increased refugees.  

Indeed, the era has really changed.  And the possibility of WWIII might be increasing.  Although only few people predict WWIII will occur between the US with its allies and China or Russia, there is no denying such a possibility, since the US cannot abandon its destiny of propagating freedom, liberty, and democracy (if not the American-version of Christianity) to the world while the regimes in China and Russia never give up their obsessiveness of ruling their people and expanding their power as much as or as far as possible.

Anyway, the American ideal and the Chinese/Russian ruling style cannot stand in a row.  In this century, predominance of either side over the other will be made clear.  And it might be settled through WWIII in the worst case with hundreds of millions of global victims.  From this point of view, this corona-pandemic must be viewed.  It might be graver than common observation, feeling, and judgment of people in the world.

So, as I claimed before, as Isaac Newton predicted that the end of the world will start around 2060, the prelude of the start of the end of the world must be starting with this 2020 corona-virus.  It means that we should not be simply waiting for 2021 when vaccines will be widely available in the world, but we should be more serious in observing, feeling, and judging this era.

Indeed, Christ Jesus said to see through the era as you try to predict the weather of the next day.  Therefore, we have to see the true course of events in this era through the corona-pandemic.         

**** **** ****

Matthew 8 King James Version
28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.
29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
30 And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.
31 So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.
32 And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.

"he that sent me is true" - The Vitamin C Synthesis Function of Human Species Suppressed by Viruses

 

Around the Imperial Palace, Tokyo

The Vitamin C Synthesis Function of Human Species Suppressed by Viruses

Vitamin C is required for the functioning of several enzymes and is important for immune system function.  It also functions as an antioxidant. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_C)

However, the human species lack the ability to synthesize vitamin C in their bodies while most of animals possess this function.  So, today, why and how ancestors of the human species lost this ability is thought to be a kind of mystery.

Ancestors of the human species as Haplorhini were separated from Strepsirrhini 63 million years ago after extinction of dinosaurs 65 million years ago.  At the time, ancestors of the human species and other infraorders under Haplorhini lost the vitamin C synthesis ability.    

(https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B5%E3%83%AB%E7%9B%AE)

The answer must be that our ancestors as Haplorhini were infected by viruses having genes that suppressed the vitamin C synthesis and then they split from Strepsirrhini.  Since then, the human species and other close primates lost vitamin C synthesis ability till this day.  For example, bats also lack this ability, while they have survived to present day as they can take vegetables including vitamin C from environment.

But why did the genes introduced by viruses to suppress the vitamin C synthesis come to be inherited by the human species?  The key to the answer must be the fact that glucose sugar is used as material when synthesizing vitamin C in the human body.  On the other hand, glucose sugar plays an important role in maintaining brain functions.

Without these genes to suppress the vitamin C synthesis, a great amount of glucose sugar would be consumed when it was needed to increase vitamin C in our body, so that our brain would have to lose its material of glucose sugar.  Therefore, the human species opted for keeping these genes to suppress the vitamin C synthesis so as to keep conditions advantageous for protecting and developing of the brain, which allowed for further evolution of the human species. 

Indeed, Linus Carl Pauling, a notable American chemist, once said that the mankind lost the vitamin C synthesis function in order to protect their brains.  But it must be a result of infection 63 million years ago by viruses having genes to suppress the vitamin C synthesis and introducing them into the bodies of early human species.  And due to this incident, the human species could evolve with brains well protected and developed.

Put simply, we owe our existence of today as a highly evolved and intellectual species to viruses with the ability to introduce and transmit genes into our DNA.

It suggests that if the current corona-viruses had such a function to introduce some specific genes to DNA of the mankind, we might further evolve to a certain direction.  However, it is unknown if the direction is good for future of the mankind or fatal for the mankind.

As the current viruses have infected more than 20 million people in the world in eight months or so, damage might have been already done to DNA of the mankind in the worst case.  So, if the God wanted to exterminate the mankind, it seems natural that He would use viruses.

The fact that a man cannot create vitamin C in his body means or suggests something decisive to the future of the mankind. 

**** **** ****

John 8    King James Version
25 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning.
26 I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.
27 They understood not that he spake to them of the Father.
28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.

”he arose, and rebuked the wind” - The Type of HLA Inherited from Ancestors Saves Japanese from Viruses

 

Tokyo

The Type of HLA Inherited from Ancestors Saves Japanese from Viruses

A cell infected by viruses attaches pieces of proteins created by viruses in the cell to a molecule called the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) to display them. Then, a cytotoxic T-cell recognizes HLA and the pieces of proteins through the T-cell receptor to attack the infected cell.

(https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-07/ou-tff070120.php)

So, Japanese universities and medical institutions established a task force to examine genes associated with COVID-19 immune response for the development of mucosal vaccine.

Immune response to a virus also varies from individual to individual due to differences in the nucleotide sequences of genes called "polymorphisms." This variability means that even if two people become infected with the same virus, polymorphic variations may yield different immune responses. In an immune response, a group of molecules collectively referred to as HLA acts as a command tower that induces adaptive immunity, specifically binding to bits of virus proteins, generally referred to as epitopes. The recognition by T-cell receptors of epitopes bound to HLA is the key to the function of adaptive immunity, which is expressed in the function of cytotoxic T cells and antibody-producing B cells. There are many types of HLA genes (HLA-A, B, C, DR, DQ, DQ, DP, etc.) and the polymorphism in each HLA (e.g., HLA-A) are known to vary for individual to individual. This is thought to be related not only to differences in responsiveness to viruses but also to susceptibility to seasonal allergies and many other immune-mediated diseases. On the other hand, these immune responses, including innate immunity, are also strongly affected by individual variation other than polymorphic HLA genes, suggesting that various polymorphisms, in addition to HLA, play a significant role in the exacerbation of COVID-19. (https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-07/ou-tff070120.php)

The A, B, AB, and O types are related to red blood cells, but the white blood cells can be grouped according to HLA types whose number is more than 100,000.  And the degree of easiness of suffering from a disease changes depending on a HLA type, because HLA plays an important role in response of immunity and this response varies according to difference in HLA types.  

The current corona-viruses are based on structure of SARS viruses that caused a minor pandemic around 2003.  Both types of viruses attach themselves to a receptor called ACE2 on the surface of human cells, which dramatically enhances their infectious capacity.  

When SARS viruses spread in the world, there were almost no persons severely infected by the viruses in Japan.  A Taiwanese scientist found that there were clear difference in infection among geological regions and studied on features common to patients developing severe disease due to the viruses.  As a result the scientist discovered that those patients in Asia had commonly the B46 type of HLA.  And only 5% of the Japanese people have the B46 type.

Those having the B46 type can be commonly observed in the southern China, and it is thought that Japanese with this type have ancestors who immigrated into Japan from the southern China about 1500 and 2500 years ago or so in the history. 

However, majority of Japanese have ancestors (so called the Jomon people) having lived in the Japanese archipelago since more than thousands of years or tens of thousands of years ago.  And geological distribution of areas in Japan with the small number of people contaminated by SARS viruses matches that of areas with people having genes received from the Jomon people.

In other words, because majority of the Japanese people are descendants of the Jomon people (who can be called original Japanese), they could avoid severe disease caused by SARS viruses around 2003 and the current corona-viruses.  The type of HLA inherited from ancestors has saved most of Japanese from corona-viruses.    

The number of people in the world infected by corona-viruses is 23,380,569 and the number of deaths due to the viruses is 808,697 as of August 23, 2020.

Major country   Infected people   Deaths
==============================

USA                5,841,428           180,174
Brazil              3,582,698           114,277
India               3,043,436            56,846
UK                     324,601           41,423
France               238,002           30,512
Germany           233,857             9,331
(China                84,951              4,634...dubious)
JAPAN               61,747              1,176

 

**** **** ****

Luke 8    King James Version
23 But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.
24 And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.
25 And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.

"ye are of this world; I am not of this world" - Virus-Infected Neanderthals Might Become Homo Sapiens

Tokyo

Virus-Infected Neanderthals Might Become Homo Sapiens

There is a theory that Neanderthals evolved into the modern mankind through contamination of viruses that changed their DNA.

Viruses can bring some genes into human cells and embed them into our DNA.  There is also a theory than evolution of the mankind was accelerated by this function of viruses that contaminated human cells.  And other animals must have also evolved through contamination with viruses that changed their DNAs.

So, it is no wonder that every one of the modern mankind possesses genes that were originated in Neanderthals, since our ancestors might include Neanderthals who had been contaminated by viruses and undergone DNA change to become Homo sapiens or anatomically modern humans.  Put simply, not all the Neanderthals went extinct, but some Neanderthals survived as Homo sapiens through change in DNA by contamination with some viruses.

These traits that can be traced back to the era of co-existence of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens must be related to receptivity to viruses.  Therefor, some races of today may be prone to be more easily contaminated by some viruses, such as corona-viruses, depending on the degree to proximity of DNA to Neanderthals.

According to another study, in some areas of the human genome the genes that can react mutually with viruses are condensed.  And in these genes that can react mutually with viruses are condensed, molecules that directly react with RNA viruses such as HIV and influenza viruses are condensed. 

Anyway, viruses can enter into our cells, change part of our genes on DNA, and accelerate evolution of the mankind.  It also means that we cannot be completely free from viruses as long as our bodies are built with cells that accept genes carried in by viruses.  

So, the mankind will develop science to control viruses in our bodies and cells or our DNA where viruses can embed new genes.  However, the technology developed for this purpose may be abused to alter the basic physical structure of a man, which may lead to more danger for existence of the mankind.  

Therefore, it is natural that the end of the world will come with influence or aftermath of contamination or pandemics by some fatal viruses.   

**** **** ****

John 8    King James Version
22 Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come.
23 And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.
24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
25 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning.
26 I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.