EARTHQUAKE!
Some have declared that 2010 is the Year of the Earthquake! Little
wonder . . . since the beginning of the year there have been a
remarkable number of quakes, some big and some small. We are all
aware of the death and destruction that has taken place in the past few
months:
MAJOR QUAKES THUS FAR IN 2010:
January 3, 2010
Solomon Islands
Magnitude 7.2
January 10, 2010
Offshore N. California Magnitude 6.5
January 12, 2010
Haiti
Magnitude 7.0
February 27, 2010
Chile
Magnitude 8.8
March
5, 2010
Sumatra, Indonesia
Magnitude 6.5
April
4, 2010
Baja California,
Mexico Magnitude 7.2
April 6, 2010
Northern Sumatra
Magnitude 7.7
April 11, 2010
Solomon Islands
Magnitude 6.8
April 11, 2010
Spain
Magnitude 6.3
April 13, 2010
China
Magnitude 6.9
SMALLER QUAKES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
AND BAJA CALIFORNIA:
The number of earthquakes greater than magnitude 4.0 in Southern
California and Baja California has increased significantly in 2010.
During the first four months of 2010, there were 70 such earthquakes,
the most of any year in the last decade. There were 30 similar
earthquakes for the entire year of 2009 and 29 similar quakes for the
entire year of 2008. Is California in imminent danger of "the big
one"?
RING
OF FIRE:
The Pacific “Ring Of Fire” is a huge area where
large numbers of earthquakes and volcanoes occur in the basin of the
Pacific Ocean. The “ring” is actually a 25,000 mile horseshoe
shape that goes up the western edges of south and north America,
includes Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, and then extends southward to
Japan, the Philippines, then eastward around Australia but consisting of
Indonesia and New Zealand. Located near the center of this
potential area of devastation is Hawaii which is already considered a
hot spot for volcanic and earthquake activities.
IS
THERE SIGNIFICANCE IN THE INCREASED EARTHQUAKE ACTIVITY?
No one wants to spark
a panic but at the same time, one would be unwise to simply ignore the
increased shaking that is happening all over the world and in the
Pacific Ring of Fire in particular. As quickly as they have
started, such activity could certainly subside.
At the same time
anyone living in the active areas of earthquakes would be wise to
prepare for the unexpected. Food and water supplies sufficient to
sustain your family is not extremism.
EARTHQUAKES IN THE BIBLE:
Earthquakes are nothing
new in the history of mankind. We read about earthquakes
throughout the Biblical record:
When the LORD descended upon Mount
Sinai and gave the Law to Moses, Scripture tells us that the
“whole mount quaked greatly.” Exodus
19:18
We also read in Numbers
16:31-34
that the earth shook and opened up and swallowed the rebellious
followers of Korah who withstood the leadership of Moses
1 Samuel 14:15
records
that God delivered His people in battle when He sent a great earthquake:
“And there
was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people: the
garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked: so
it was a very great trembling.”
During the time of
Jesus’ crucifixion there was a great earthquake and many graves in
Jerusalem were opened.
(Matthew 27:54) There was another shaking of the ground when the
angel rolled the stone away from the tomb that had held the body of
Christ. (Matthew 28:2) We even read of a great
earthquake that shook the prison that held the Apostle Paul and loosed
his bands. (Acts 16:26)
So the occurrences of
earthquakes are not new nor unique to our generation. But the
presence of increased earthquakes will also play a part in future events
according to the Bible.
EARTHQUAKES IN BIBLICAL PROPHECY:
The prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel both spoke of
great earthquakes in future days when the LORD will directly intervene
into the affairs of mankind. (Isaiah 29:6 and Ezekiel 38:19)
Isaiah even predicted that the
entire world would one day be moved out of its orbit and there would
be great devastation and loss of life:
“And I will punish the world for its evil, and the
wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud
to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will
make a man more rare than fine gold . . . and I will shake the heavens
and the earth shall remove out of its place . . . “ (Isaiah 13:11-13)
Panic will fill the hearts of all men and the Lord
Himself will bring their proud ways to an abrupt end. Can you
imagine such an event that the entire world would shake and be moved?
Jeremiah the prophet also referred to this
cataclysmic event when he declared that a great end-time nation would be
destroyed and the earth would be thrown off its axis. (Jeremiah
50:46)
Perhaps of greater
significance for us today is the fact that Jesus spoke of the coming of
increased earthquake activity. He spoke these words of warning to
a world that is facing great tribulation.
In Matthew 24:7, Mark 13:8, and Luke
21:11
we read of Jesus’ warning --
“Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom
against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various
places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.”
Jesus continued His
warning when He said – “For then shall be great tribulation, such as
was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever
shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should
no flesh be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days shall be
shortened.” (Matthew 24:21-22)
We believe Jesus’ words specifically described a time of future judgment
and suffering known as the “Tribulation” but it is very possible that
the events He described such as “famines, and pestilences, and
earthquakes” may continually escalate until they wreak great
devastation during the time that He once again deals directly with His
nation, the people of Israel.
Does the present apparent increase of
earthquakes and volcanic eruptions warn us of future events to come?
Time will tell. But we should not just scoff and ignore the
teaching of Scripture that declares that earthquakes WILL increase
during the last days.
HOW CAN ONE PREPARE FOR POSSIBLE DAYS OF
PROPHETIC JUDGMENT?
No amount of physical
preparation will prepare you for the events that are prophesied to occur
during the time of “Jacobs Trouble” or the days of Tribulation.
God’s just judgment upon a world that has hated His very Name will be
inescapable once those days begin. And there will be no place to
run and hide once the earth begins to catastrophically shake apart.
The place of ultimate
safety must be embraced now and that place of safety is faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ.
The Bible clearly declares that people who have
placed their faith in the atoning work of Christ will escape the days of
judgment destined for the world. The New Testament books of First
and Second Thessalonians were specifically written to a group of
born-again believers who had been deceived into believing that Christ
had already come and had left them behind to face the judgment of the
Tribulation. Paul assured them –
“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him, That ye be not soon
shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by
letter as from us, as that the day of the Lord is already present.
Let no man deceive you by any means; for that day shall not come, except
there come the falling away first, and that man of sin revealed, the son
of perdition . . . “ 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4
The “falling away first” is literally
translated “the departure.” The Greek word for departure is
“apostacia” and comes from the word “aphistemi”
which means “to remove.” The Bible states
clearly that Christ will remove His blood bought children before
the horrors of the Tribulation begin. Jesus’ coming for His people
is referred to as “the blessed hope.”
(Titus 2:12-13)
In
1 Thessalonians 5:2-6 Paul spoke words of warning to those who do
not believe but words of great comfort and joy for those who do believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ –
“For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord will come as
a thief in the night. For when they say, Peace and safety, then
sudden destruction will come upon them, as travail upon a woman with
child, and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in
darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief. You are all
sons of light, and sons of the day; we are not of the night, nor of
darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep, as do others, but let us
watch and be sober minded.”
One
of the greatest “signs” of Jesus’ coming is when man shall say . . . “No
problem . . . all is well . . . peace and safety.” Officials are
averting panic in our world that is experiencing increased earthquake
activity by declaring, everything is normal . . . there is nothing to
worry about. Personally, I am very thankful that the future
judgments cascading upon the earth will not grip me because I have
placed my personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as my Redeemer and
Lord.
The only preparation I
know of is personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. He
died on the cross as a substitute for all men and if we will call upon
Him in faith, we can have the assurance of eternal life.
“For whosoever shall call upon the Name
of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Acts 16:31
BAD NEWS:
“For
the wages of sin is death . . . “
GOOD NEWS:
“ . . . but the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23
We recently read of a group of tourists who were enamored with the ocean
beach as the water receded suddenly revealing fish, shells and objects
normally covered by the waters. Little did they know, as they
frolicked and picked up souvenirs in the waterless beach, that a huge
tidal wave would suddenly descend upon them and claim their lives.
Had they known, they
would have immediately run for higher ground and safety.
Does the increased earthquake activity tell us of
cataclysmic things to come? Wouldn’t it be wise to seek out a
place of safety just in case? Run to Christ and ask Him for
forgiveness and the gift of God which is eternal life!
CLICK HERE to
see the illustrated message entitled
“Good News For a Bad News World.”
CLICK HERE to
see the article "Twelve Reasons Why Many Believe That Christ Is Coming
Soon."
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comments or questions.
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