*Revealing Earth's Increasing Earthquakes: Foretaste of the Future?*
Most of us viewed the deadly Earthquake and Tsunami in Sumatra and
The Indian Ocean that killed 250.000, and the recent quake in Haiti
which has killed another 250.000 from the comfort of our living rooms.
What would we do if we had to experience such a disaster? The Indian
ocean, victims had no warning. Haiti had no warning. We do..... We have
been forewarned by God, in His Word The Bible.
Modern technology has again brought a crisis into our homes in real
time and in living color. Perhaps you first saw scenes of the tragedy in
Haiti, or saw the events of the Sumatra quake and the resulting Tsunami
on the television in your living room. Or maybe you read an Internet
report on your office computer. You could have heard a radio report, as
you drove along a safe, modern highway. Or perhaps you read of it in
your local paper over coffee and breakfast. In any case, you were
probably warm, comfortable and safe-wherever you heard the news.
From a distance you can find a little comfort in the fact that
various national governments and independent relief organizations were
marshaling their forces to provide assistance.
What if, though, everything we described were reversed? Instead of
most of us watching the events on television in comfort, what if most of
us were experiencing the agony of a disaster? What if those nations that
are now rushing to provide help were the ones in need of it? What if we
could not turn off the sights and sounds of horror with a flick of a
switch? Could that happen? And what would we do? Would there be anything
we could do?
A few minutes of television is nothing like seeing, hearing,
feeling and smelling such horrors in person. We know the same could be
said about the difference between viewing the effects of a tragedy and
experiencing it firsthand.
Wake up Call From God?
Why do natural disasters, disease epidemics and other tragedies
strike certain places, while leaving others unscathed? Are there lessons
to be learned? Certainly scientists have provided some geological,
social and climatic reasons. Some in the world of religion wonder if it
is the hand of God at work, punishing the wicked. Or perhaps earthquakes
such as just struck Haiti are the first indicators of the fact that we
are living in Last Days and the coming end of this world Age. Are we
receiving A Wake Up Call From God?
What does the Bible say?
The disciples asked Jesus Christ about signs of His return, the
time the Bible calls the Day of the Lord. In Matthew 24:6-8, He said,
"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not
troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not
yet. And there will be famines, pestilences, and EARTHQUAKES in various
places. All these are the beginning of sorrows."
On one hand, disasters and tragedies are regular events that come
and go over the centuries. In some cases, of course, they are the result
of human "cause and effect." Galatians 6:6-8 tells us that if we do
wrong, we will reap disaster. If we do right, blessings will come. This
is true for whole societies, as well as for individuals.
Christ warned us, though, not to become too comfortable, confident
or cocky if such tragedies don't happen to us. The lack of natural
disasters is not necessarily proof of righteousness. In Luke 13:1-5,
Jesus warned all humans to repent, or face the consequences.
"There were present at that season some who told Him about the
Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And
Jesus answered and said to them, 'Do you suppose that these Galileans
were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such
things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise
perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed
them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who
dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all
likewise perish.'"
That should be a lesson for us, today. Punishment and destruction
can happen to us. What would we do?
How to avoid divine punishment
Man's long history of disobedience to God will eventually result in
a time when all will suffer unimaginable horrors, a period that the
world has never experienced. In Matthew 24:21-22, Christ continues, "For
then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the
beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And
unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the
elect's sake those days will be shortened."
Because of the righteousness of those who obey God, Jesus will
return and eventually stop the destruction. His second coming will
certainly be Good News for those who follow Him-but not for the vast
majority of human beings who don't.
In verses 29 and 30, He says, "Immediately after the tribulation of
those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its
light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens
will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven,
and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the
Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."
Amos, an Old Testament prophet, was inspired to warn those who
would hear that God's intervention in human affairs would be
unmistakable. One will not have to wonder or speculate if a localized
disaster signals that we are now living in the End Times or Last Days.
The extent, force and unrelenting duration of catastrophes will
make the truth self-evident. Amos 5:18 states, "Woe to you who desire
the day of the LORD! For what good is the day of the LORD to you? It
will be darkness, and not light. It will be as though a man fled from a
lion, and a bear met him! Or as though he went into the house, leaned
his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him!"
The wealthy Western nations remain relatively unscathed-for now.
The Haiti Earthquake indicates That this will not be the case for long.
Isaiah 2 gives a sobering and frightening scenario of rich nations,
descendants of ancient Israel, that will not be able to rely on their
wealth in the Day of the Lord.
Verses 11 to 21 read in part, "The lofty looks of man shall be
humbled, the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone
shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the LORD of hosts shall
come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up-and it
shall be brought low. Upon all the high mountains, and upon all the
hills that are lifted up; upon every high tower, and upon every
fortified wall; upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all the
beautiful sloops.
"The LORD alone will be exalted in that day, but the idols He
shall utterly abolish. They shall go into the holes of the rocks, and
into the caves of the earth, from the terror of the LORD and the glory
of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily. In that day
a man will cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which
they made, each for himself to worship, to the moles and bats, to go
into the clefts of the rocks, and into the crags of the rugged rocks,
from the terror of the LORD and the glory of His majesty, when He arises
to shake the earth mightily."
Another reference in Isaiah reads like a first hand description of
the recent devastating earthquakes. Survivors in the Haiti quake zone
wander about with a dispirited, unbelieving gaze in their eyes. That's a
glimpse of what will strike the descendants of Israel-living today in
the comfort and safety of the Western world.
Isaiah's words are similar to Christ's words quoted above: "Wail,
for the day of the LORD is at hand! It will come as destruction from the
Almighty. Therefore all hands will be limp, every man's heart will melt,
and they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; they
will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; they will be amazed at one
another; their faces will be like flames.
"Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with both wrath and
fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He will destroy its sinners
from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give
their light; the sun will be darkened in its going forth, and the moon
will not cause its light to shine. I will punish the world for its evil,
and the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the
proud, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a
mortal more rare than fine gold" (Isaiah 13:6-12).
Tragedy will strike "safe" sectors of earth
The time is indeed coming when tragedies like the one that just
happened in Haiti, will be on our doorstep as indicated by the 8.9 quake
and Tsunami in Sumatra. We will not simply be able to "change the
channel" to a better picture. Our material wealth will not save us, nor
will our insurance companies enable us to rebuild. No nation will come
to our aid. What will we do? Jesus Christ said there is only one thing
to do: repent.
Joel 2 describes the time of God's anger, and what humans should
do. Verses 12-14 say, "'Now, therefore,' says the LORD, 'Turn to Me with
all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.' So rend
your heart, and not your garments; return to the LORD your God, for He
is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He
relents from doing harm.
Who knows if He will turn and repent?"
Right now, distance shields us from the effects of most disasters.
Besides giving monetary support, there is little we can do to help. It
would be a real tragedy, though, if we ignorantly assumed that we will
always enjoy such isolation. Experiencing suffering is a whole lot more
agonizing than seeing a few pictures of it in wealthy comfort.
Could such calamities really happen on a worldwide scale? And what
would or could we do if they did? Jesus Christ said they would happen.
He also said what we should do. Unlike the victims in Haiti and Sumatra,
we are receiving advance warning. If we heed it, if we repent, a way of
escape is possible.
