A devastating earthquake (6.3 magnitude) has hit Christchurch, New Zealand. The prime minister is calling it his country’s “darkest day.” (To view pictures, click here.) It was only a year ago that similar devastating earthquakes struck both Haiti (7.0 magnitude) and Chile (preliminary magnitude was 8.8). (The Drudge Report headline on the Chilean quake was: “Massive.”)
You may be thinking: So what’s up with all these earthquakes? This tweet on twitter the day of the Chile disaster hit the nail on the head: RT @neicyt98 Tsunami warnings for Hawaii, Japan & even Russia?? If you see 4 guys on horses or a dude with a trumpet, uh oh. (Thanks, Denise T in Tampa, Florida.) The “4 guys on horses” is a reference to the four horseman of the apocalypse in the Book of Revelation (singular ~ no “s”). The “dude with a trumpet” is a reference to the 7th angel in the Book of Revelation (and in other places) who will sound the coming of Christ and the end of the world (among other things).
And so we have the answer to the earthquake question. Like so many other answers in life, it’s found in the Bible. Simply put, we’re living in the last days and Christ is near, at the very door. Our Lord Himself put it like this: “‘Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be great earthquakes (Haiti, Chile, Christchurch, where next?), and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD with power and great glory. But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.'” (Luke 21:10-11, 27-28)
With this in mind our question shouldn’t be so much: What’s up with all these earthquakes? We have the answer to that. Instead, it should be: Are we ready to meet Jesus? Here’s how you can be ready: How to receive Christ into your heart and life (in 30 seconds).
About Pastor Mike
(To view old map,
Actually, Mike, our pastor, John Forsythe of Calvary Chapel Surfside in Indian Harbor Beach, FL, dealt with the earthquake question in his message from Revelation 6 this past weekend. He’s a former oceanographic engineer, just for the record.
The number of major earthquakes over the past 100 years has actually decreased ever so slightly!
We hear more about them now for several reasons. First, over the past century we’ve gone from 300-ish monitoring stations worldwide to over 8,000. Second, each of these monitoring stations can detect tremors below a 4 on (I presume) the Richter scale, whereas stations prior to the 1970’s could not. (These 4’s and lower are rarely felt.) Third, we hear more about them because of satellite communications and the Internet. I suspect there’s also a lowering of building quality that may be involved here, too.
His entire teaching on the 5th & 6th seals of Revelation can be found on the church website, linked above, and on iTunes. The bottom line, though, was best said by the late Douglas Adams: Don’t Panic!
The funny thing is I just read this post of yours the day before Japan got hit… and regarding the above comment maybe so but Jesus didn’t say more he said you’d hear of… since we hear about them more now is another sign I’d say.
keep looking up