A church in Mississippi was destroyed by a suspected arson fire after its pastor filed a lawsuit challenging gathering restrictions amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Firefighters responded to the fire at First Pentecostal Church of Holly Springs around 2 a.m. at night but when responders arrived they found the church building engulfed in flames.

First Pentecostal Church in Holly Springs, Mississippi, burned down, and when investigators from the sheriff’s Office got to the scene, they found graffiti in the church parking lot that said: “Bet you stay home now you hypokrites.”

Jerry Waldrop, the pastor of the church, said “We’ve kind of racked our brains and we have no idea, no enemies that we know of. We don’t know anyone that we even think could be capable of doing something like this.”

The pastor had previously filed a lawsuit against the city of Holly Springs alleging police officers had disrupted a church Bible study and Easter service.

The city attorney said nearly 40 worshipers were inside the church building and were not practicing social distancing when the violation citation was issued for the church.

But the pastor’s complaint asked for a temporary restraining order to keep city officials from preventing their church services, saying churchgoers practiced social distancing while indoors and only held indoor services when bad weather would not allow them to gather outside.

After the church burned down, officials said based on what they’ve seen at the scene and the evidence, they believe this was an act of arson.

Police said they found a can of white spray paint and a flashlight at the scene but that no suspects had been identified.

But that investigators, including from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and potentially the F.B.I., could also go through the scene.

There has been increasing contention between governments and society with churches over orders that churches could not gather to worship. Authorities have threatened churches and closed them down with covid-19 orders.

And there have been instances where pastors were arrested and imprisoned, and also incidents were churches received death threats and were shot at—and now burned.

The Biblical prophecies (Matthew 24) describe that pestilence will be a sign which indicates the beginning of the end of this age of grace, and that tribulation or trouble will come to believers at that time.

These events and conditions happening now are warning signs pointing to the nearing fulfillment of the Last Days prophecies at the end of this age revealing it’s time to prepare now for the nearing appearance of Jesus Christ for His Church by being born again spiritually into the Kingdom of God as Jesus said we must (John 3) and His Apostles who were authorized (Matthew 16:19) described how (Acts 2).

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