According to early estimates, over 40,000 people died in an earthquake in South Asia on October 8. The year 2004 ended with the death of 220,000 in Indonesia, while the year 2003 rung out with an earthquake that killed 31,000 in Iran. [b](Do the math… that’s over a quarter of a million people dead in the last 10 months!)[/b] Both events remind us that God's Word is true. The Lord Jesus Christ warned that the Great Tribulation at the end of the church age would be preceded by "earthquakes in divers places" (Mt. 24:7; Mk. 13:8; Lk. 21:11). Washington Post reporter Michael Dobbs compared it to "a scene from the Bible." In fact, this is only a gentle warning of what lies ahead. At the very opening of the seven-year Tribulation one-fourth of the earth's population will die from war and famine (Rev. 6:7-8). A third of all the ships in the seas will be destroyed (Rev. 8:9). A third of the waters on the earth will be poisoned (Rev. 8:10-11). A swarm of demonic locusts will torment men with stings so fearful that they will seek death but "shall not find it" (Rev. 9:1-6). A third of the world's inhabitants will die when an army of 200 million marches from the east (Rev. 9:15-18). [b](China reached 200 million in armed strength a few years ago!)[/b] The antichrist will rule and require that all men bow to his image and take his mark or die (Rev. 13:11-18). The sun will become so hot that men will be "scorched with great heat" (Rev. 16:8-9). A terrible shaking of the earth will cause every island to sink and the mountains to fall (Rev. 16:20). Hailstones weighing 75-95 pounds will fall from heaven (Rev. 16:21). Men's hearts will fail "for looking after those things which are coming on the earth" (Lk. 21:26). No person living today has to go through these horrible judgments. We are still living in the era of "good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people" (Lk. 2:10), which is the gospel of Jesus Christ, that He died for our sins, was buried, and rose the third day to offer eternal salvation to whosoever will believe in Him as Lord and Saviour. The Bible says God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezek. 33:11); it is His will, rather, that all men be saved (1 Tim. 2:3-4; 1 Pet. 3:9).

Wake up!

Krispy

Earthquakes are no more frequent now than in the past 100 years. Here's a link.

http://www.bible.ca/pre-earthquakes-history-data.htm

Bub

There is some interesting stuff on earthquakes and natural disasters [url=http://www.rialto.k12.ca.us/curriculum/quake/history.html]here.[/url]

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Ron Bailey

Major World Earthquakes in Past 50 Years

Oct. 8, 2005: Pakistani Kashmir; magnitude 7.6; more than 20,000+ killed.

March 28, 2005: Sumatra, Indonesia; magnitude 8.7; up to 1,000 killed.

Dec. 26, 2004: Sumatra, Indonesia; magnitude 9.0; more than 176,000 people killed in 11 countries from earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

Dec. 26, 2003: Bam, Iran; magnitude 6.5; more than 26,000 killed.

May 21, 2003: Northern Algeria; magnitude 6.8; nearly 2,300 killed.

March 25, 2002: Northern Afghanistan; magnitude 5.8; up to 1,000 killed.

Jan. 26, 2001: India; magnitude 7.9; at least 2,500 killed. Estimates put death toll as high as 13,000.

Sept. 21, 1999: Taiwan; magnitude 7.6; 2,400 killed.

Aug. 17, 1999: Western Turkey; magnitude 7.4; 17,000 killed.

Jan. 25, 1999: Western Colombia; magnitude 6; 1,171 killed.

May 30, 1998: Northern Afghanistan and Tajikistan; magnitude 6.9; as many as 5,000 killed.

Jan. 17, 1995: Kobe, Japan; magnitude 7.2; more than 6,000 killed.

Sept. 30, 1993: Latur, India; magnitude 6.0; as many as 10,000 killed.

June 21, 1990: Northwest Iran; magnitude 7.3-7.7; 50,000 killed.

Dec. 7, 1988: Northwest Armenia; magnitude 6.9; 25,000 killed.

Sept. 19, 1985: Central Mexico; magnitude 8.1; more than 9,500 killed.

Sept. 16, 1978: Northeast Iran; magnitude 7.7; 25,000 killed.

July 28, 1976: Tangshan, China; magnitude 7.8-8.2; 240,000 killed.

Feb. 4, 1976: Guatemala; magnitude 7.5; 22,778 killed.

Feb. 29, 1960: Southwest Atlantic coast in Morocco; magnitude 5.7; some 12,000 killed, town of Agadir destroyed

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Josh Parsley

2Pe 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,


2Pe 3:4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as [they were] from the beginning of the creation.

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Josh Parsley

Preach... you beat me to it.

There are even those among the ranks of the church who say "Nothing has changed... everything is as it always has been".

A blind man could see that the natural disasters of the past few years seem to be intesifying.

Krispy

Hot diggity bro Krisp, you're preachin man! ... :-)

But if God's attempting to wake us up thru these (so called) natural disasters it ain't working ... Folk not directly affected are far to in tune with stats and facts to fall for a notion of God's correcting hand thru nature ...

A not so funny thing tho ... i'm not sure a lot of the saints and pastors who've lost most, if not all their material possesions are as sure, and especially so those pastors of moderate to large sized churches ... Some of those saints and pastors (i think) are doing a pretty good job of covering up their anger at God, while others just wear a look of perplexity on their faces, wondering why and how did God allow this to happen to them ...

i think so many American Christians have deluded ourselves into thinking that God will never allow any ill thing to befall us, but Katrina has ripped the cover off that falacy ... Many a saint in my own arena have that same perplexed look on their faces in discussion of these so called natural events ...

Folk can bicker back and forth all we want about is it or is it not God, but if these cataclysmic events hasn't prepped our minds to think/say "there but for the grace of God go i" ... somethings wrong ...

We American's put so much stock into our things ... what we have ... what we want ... what we're gonna go in hock for ... In light of all the devestation i've seen in the last four years i've gotten a whole new appreciation for these words of Christ ...

Luke.12
[15] And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
[16] And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
[17] And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
[18] And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
[19] And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
[20] But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
[21] So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
[22] And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.
[23] The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.


Everything we own, including our lives, can be swept away in one fell swoop ... If and/or when it may come a time that my possessions/life may be required of me, i certainly don't want God to have to preface it with "Fool" ...

These so called natural disasters (which i certainly hear as God's voice of correction) have me thinking, praying and doing a whole lot more in reference to being "rich toward God" ... Amen

Like all of you I feel like screaming it from the roof tops, Jesus is at hand! I heard a renown theologian speaking on Moody Bible Broadcasting the other day and he denounced even the very idea that God was the one who caused these world events (earthquakes, hurricanes, etc...). Then he gave supporting arguements. I was driving down the road and couldn't believe it! It's no wonder the church is asleep and full of scoffers! :-x

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D.Miller

Krispy,

I would be careful here. How many times in the past have religious leaders proclaimed "the end is near" and moved people to sell of all they have, or join a cult etc. and then they sat there, waited, waited some more, waited some more, prayed, wailed etc. and the end didn't come? Must be hundreds of such movements have occured over the last several hundred years.

Personnally, I discount Revelation altogether as indeciferable. My faith is to get up every day and do my best under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the Grace of Jesus. Let the future take care of itself.

Bubbaguy