Natural Disasters in the last days

 

Matt.24:5-8

The Bible tells us that God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.  We are living in days of grace and God is holding back the tide of utter destruction.  If He were not doing so we would all perish.  When the people of Lystra, who worshipped other gods, wanted to worship Barnabas and Paul, he told them, “We are also men , why are you doing these things? We are also men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, and earth, the sea, and all things that are in them, who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own way.  Never-the-less He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He  did good, gave rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling out r hearts with food and gladness.” (Acts 14:15-17). In grace He provides all the needs of humanity. However mankind mismanages all this because of the Fall,. He was made to rule, as vice regent of the planet.  This was made worse before the Flood and man was the cause of judgment upon the earth not God. Mankind in his rebellion has chosen to live without God and but for His love, grace and mercy we would annihilate ourselves, with a bomb, diseases, aids, destroy the planet in some other way. His mercies are  new every morning.

Christ’s Survey of History Matt. 24:5-7

Vs 5.  There will be False Messiahs and Great Deception in the last days. But in the face of this we are told by Jesus to hold on to firm truth.  Jesus was preparing hi s disciples for difficult days.

Vs 6 “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars” b tin spite of these do not give up your faith. These rumors will disturb many even if there is no conflict but just the rumors.  People will be talking of hostilities.  they will be talking of news far away. The atmosphere created by the horrors of war and abuzz with rumours of war. people will worry and be caught up in a general disquiet.  Jesus told his disciples not to get caught up in the panic, the worry, the fear and disquiet of it all.  It will take a firm hold on the unbeliever but should not on the believer.  The wars will not mean the end of all things.  Evil seem to triumph but God will include it in His final plan and purpose.  The end will take place in the way and the time that god wills.  They are all part of the preliminaries for the coming of Christ, the end is not yet.

“It is necessary” – It will seem as if evil is in control, this is an illusion, God is in control , He is still on the throne of the universe.

THE GRAND SCALE OF STRIFE

Vs 7 “Nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom”-There will be more than the normal conflicts.

THE INTERNATIONAL DISASTERS

“Famines and earthquakes in many places” – These are beyond human control and under Gods control.  Mankind can do noting to stop them.  It will highlight how puny and helpless man is in the world.  They are all cause by nature and under Gods power.

“in many places” the disasters in question will  be widespread. “All these things are the beginnings of birth pangs”.  they are put in place for the final  conflict of the ages, when Christ returns.  the tumults and troubles , the false messiahs and deception, the wars and rumours, the  famines and earthquakes will gather momentum towards the last days. They are the beginning of the process that will usher in the final state of affairs.  The powers of evil will not give up without a struggle.  There will be disaster after disaster. Until the earth is finally destroyed.

EARTHQUAKES, VOLCANOES AND TSUNAMIS

What on earth is going on.  Is mother earth angry?  Will there be a great eruption before the rapture of the church?  Old Testament prophets, Jesus and John in the Revelation referred to them. In terms of shock value , earthquakes -widespread and violent lead the list.  There was the recent huge catastrophe in Japan, that ripped through a city killing many and injuring multitudes and flattening many buildings. Then there was   a massive one in Mexico Entire communities have been wiped out by earthquakes and tsunamis. Some scientists believe a mountain will collapse in an island in of Africa and the tidal wave will reach and destroy the east coast of America and the coasts of Europe. The mythical lost city of Atlantis was devastated and sank to the bottom of the ocean in a single day.  The people there, the Minoans, were wiped out.  Evidence of a such tragedy was found by archeologists in 1966. The Helka volcano in Iceland erupted in 1150 is believed to have wiped out 90% of the population of Scotland and northern England.

WHAT IS AN EARTHQUAKE?

What is an earthquake? It is a tectonic plate slippage, continental drift , and “polar-wobble.” It is affect that the earth wobbles slightly on its axis and the wobble is related to earthquakes and volcanic action.  Scientists haves said this recent quake that set of the tsunami has shifted the earth of its axis for the first time in record.  They are not sure if an axis ship is caused by earthquakes or of if powerful earthquakes set of the wobble.  you chose.  When they occur it affects the earths climate, and its elements, and forces stress within the earth.  The planets rotational axis , poles and magnetic field is currently weakening and is down 15% since 1670.    As this continues an increase of radiation will result in a rise of mutations stillbirths and cancers.  But it will no tend the world.   to Earthquakes are on the increase.  there are several million throughout the world each year.  Will the world be shaken apart by an earthquake? No! It will not split apart by a series of giant tremors.

A SHORT HISTORY OF EARTHQUAKES

79 ad a blanket of ash buried the people of Pompeii, Italy, killing 17000 people.

1556; in China a quake of monster magnitude in central province killed 820000 people. What is a volcano? It is simply, a vent in the earths crust from which molten lava and steam come out. The hot fluid rock forces its way upward though the cracks and cavities until it reaches the buckled surface.  Most volcanoes are associated with earthquakes and exist along the boundaries between the tectonic plates that mold the earths crust.

1775 , on November 1st 60000 died in Lisbon, Portugal by an earthquake.  At the same time one struck Morocco across the straits of the Spanish peninsula.  a whole village of 8000 people was swallowed up.  Poland

1815, one of the biggest occurred when Mount Tombora blew its top into the Java sea.  About 100000 died.  the ash affected the farmlands of the USA on other side of the world.

In 1883 the explosion resulting in the destruction of the island of Krakatau (now Indonesia) was heard 3000 miles away in the Indian ocean.  It was “the distant roar of heavy guns.”  The airwaves created  traveled the entire surface of the planet, bouncing back and forth seven times.  Meanwhile a great tsunami thrust outward , washing away entire towns in Java and Sumatra before spreading waves lapped around the worlds shores.  the power of such activity can change the worlds climate.

1906: San Francisco is hit by a series of violent shocks which last up to a minute. Between 700 and 3,000 people die either from collapsing buildings or in the subsequent fire.

1923: The Great Kanto earthquake, with its epicenter just outside Tokyo, claims the lives of 142,800 people in the Japanese capital.

1935: Taiwan is hit by a tremor measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale, which kills 3,276 people.

1948: The Fukui quake, centered in the East China Sea, devastates western Japan, killing 3,770.

1950: A violent land earthquake hits Assam in north-eastern India. The shock sent needles off seismographs but was officially logged as a 9.0 on the Richter scale.

1965. A n earthquake zipped down through the Atlantic coast at more than 400 miles per hour destroying stores and drowning people in the far south of California.1960: The world’s strongest recorded earthquake devastates Chile, with a reading of 9.5 on the Richter scale. A tsunami 30ft (10m) high eliminates entire villages in Chile and kills 61 hundreds of miles away in Hawaii. In 1965 a n earthquake zipped down through the Atlantic coast at more than 400 miles per hour destroying stores and drowning people in the far south of California.

1976. The Chinese city of Tangshan is reduced to rubble in a quake that claims up to 500,000 lives.

1965. An earthquake zipped down through the Atlantic coast at more than 400 miles per hour destroying stores and drowning people in the far south of California.

1980: Hundreds are killed by tremors which ripple through southern Italy.

September 1985: Mexico City is shaken by a huge earthquake which razes buildings and kills 10,000 people.

December 1988:An earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale devastates northwest Armenia, killing 25,000 people.

October 1989: The Loma Prieta earthquake hits California, killing 68 people.

1990: More than 40,000 people die in a tremor in the northern Iranian province of Gilan.

1991: when Mount Pinatubo blew its stack the veil of dust and sulpheric acid caused more than vivid sunsets on the other side of the globe.  The blanket of dust caused the earths temperature to drop by 1%.

1992: in Nicaragua a massive quake killed many people and may were missing after tidal wave triggered by a powerful earthquake sweep houses away in dozens of communities. and villages along the pacific coast.  In a few moments the wave crashed in and slipped out destroying everything in its path.  It wad reported the same day that a quake triggered a rock slide in Zion National park.

September 1993: Around 22,000 villagers are killed in western and southern India.

June 1994: Around 1,000 people are killed by an earthquake and ensuing landslide in Colombia.

January 1995: The Hyogo quake hits the city of Kobe in Japan, killing 6,430 people.

May 1995: The far eastern island of Sakhalin is hit by a massive earthquake, measuring 7.5, which claims the lives of 1,989 Russians.

February 1997: A quake measuring 5.5 tears apart rural areas of north-western Iran, killing 1,000 people. Three months later a stronger tremor, measuring 7.1, kills 1,560 in eastern Iran.

May 1998: Northern Afghanistan is hit by a major earthquake, killing 4,000 people.

June 1998: Adana in south-eastern Turkey is shaken by an earthquake measuring 6.3 which claims 144 lives. A week later the same area suffers two strong aftershocks, leaving more than 1,000 people injured.

July 1998: More than 1,000 are killed after a tsunami or sea wave, caused by an undersea earthquake, wipes out communities on the north-western coast of Papua New Guinea.

January 1999: A shock measuring 6.0 kills up to 1,000 in the Colombian town of Armenia.

March 1999: Uttar Pradesh in northern India is hit by two earthquakes in as many days, killing more than 100.

17 August 1999: An earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale rocks the Turkish cities of Izmit and Istanbul, leaving hundreds dead and many more injured.

7 September 1999: The northern suburbs of the Greek capital Athens are hit by an earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale.

21 September 1999: Taiwan is hit by a quake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, killing nearly 2,500 people and causing damage to every town in the island.

6 October 2000: An earthquake, measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale, injured 30 people and damaged about 200 homes in Japan.

16 November 2000: An earthquake measuring 8 on the Richter scale shakes Papua New Guinea, triggering at least one tidal wave.

THE EARTH WILL BE DESTROYED 2 PET. 3:3-7

 

There is a day in the future when great cataclysmic events will take place.  A universal intervention by God into the world affairs.  Natural laws will be interrupted and the supernatural destruction of human society and civilization will be overcome by a supernatural act of God.  Peter appealed the skeptic mind to the remember the Flood. as his final answer to those who remain in willful ignorance.  Cosmic Catastrophe occurred then and will do so again.  Gen 7:11 “All the fountains of the great deep broken up.”  The ocean floors convulsed and were uplifted sufficiently to pour water over the continent for 5 months.  What a huge tsunami and then it stopped Gen. 8:2.   The earths crust broke up causing great oceanic upheavals affecting the geologic structure of the crust.  After it subsided it did not mean it would end. It has continued on a lesser level ever since but will gain momentum in the last days. This is where we are at today.

  1. The Flood was a punishment for a sinful race that ignored and opposed God.
  2. It destroyed all mankind except Noah and his family who believed.  Believers will be safe in Christ.
  3. Christ stated that all were destroyed (Luke 17:26-30).
  4. The is universal evidence of a world wide flood and even fossils are found in the highest mountains to prove it. Tsunamis are not chance happenings but occur because of fallen humanity.
  5. Most ancient civilizations have recorded in their history the story of a flood. Mankind has no excuse (Romans 2:1-3).

THE UNIVERSAL INDICTMENT ROM. 1:18-21

Natural man refuses to glorify God or be thankful to Him.  The more grace and kindness God shows, the worse men become.  This ends in judgement.  In Acts 17:30-31 There is a day appointed for judgment.  Then all the blessing to mankind will ceases they will be come tragedies.

EARTHQUAKES AND COSMIC DISTURBANCES IN THE END TIME

Rev. 6:3-4 Soon the world will be at war. “three is no peace, said God for the wicked” (Isa. 57:21). Every politician tells us they will try to get peace but none can bring it.  One of them dropped two atom bombs.

Vs 5-8 there will be much suffering because of famines, plagues and earthquakes. There will not be enought antibiotics, medicines or physicians to cope with this future catastrophe. A fourth part of the earth will be under the control of death and Hell.

REV. 6:12-17 The Tribulation closes with a great upheaval in nature.  In the last 4000 years it is estimated that over 13 million people have lost their lives , and mostly by earthquakes. The one mentioned here is going to be the greatest of all (Rev. 16:18).  The tribulation starts with an earthquake and ends with the greatest one ever.

Christians today have a tremendous message of love and mercy to tell the world.  God still loves the way has been made to get back to Him.  Jesus said, “I am the way , the truth, and  the life , and no man comes unto the Father but by Me.” (Jn.14:6).  let us tell the world of His grace and truth.