9/14/2000, Vince Aquilino
Part 1 - Increase Earthquakes and Volcanic Activity
"For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts." (Hag 2:6-9)
As I have surveyed the current events of the last month, I was struck with the seemingly great increase in natural disaster, freakish weather patterns, and inexplicable phenomena. Consider the fluctuations in:
Extreme weather in the United States this year alone has caused more than $10 billion in insured loss and required more than $9.3 billion in federal disaster aid. But what is significant is that the average number of weather-related disaster declarations has more than doubled in the past two decades.
We must not lose sight of the fact that God's judgements are righteous and are always designed to be redemptive. As it says in Psalms 19:9b: "The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether." Even in the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ we hear the declaration: "Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments." (Rev 16:7b).
But what might not be so obvious is that God does not want to bring judgements and that when He does so, it is always for redemptive purposes -- unless his righteous judgements have been resisted so long that final judgement has been pronounced.
Consider the response of the afflicted in Revelation 16:9: "And they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds." In stead of repenting, they blasphemed the God of heaven -- but notice the observation of the writer: " and [they] did not repent of their deeds". Clearly, even in the midst of the terrible judgements of the Tribulation, God is still after repentance. We can find similar references in Rev 9:20-21 and Rev 16:9.
God does not want to bring judgement, what God wants is for no one to perish, but for all to come unto repentance and everlasting life (2 Peter 3:9). We can also see this in Ezekiel 22: "So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. "Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads," says the Lord God." (Eze 22:30-31)
God is so merciful that he will respond to repentance and not bring judgement. This is the cry of Second Chronicles 7:14: "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."
Notice that God says it is HIS PEOPLE who must pray, repent, seek HIS face and when this is done, then God will heal a land.
In Leviticus 18 we find that God has ordained that if men commit abominations in the land (such as abortion, sexual perversion), the land will be defiled and the land will vomit out the inhabitants. "I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants. 'You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who sojourns among you (for all these abominations the men of the land have done, who were before you, and thus the land is defiled), 'lest the land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you."
God is clearly saying that the land will vomit out the inhabitants. This can occur through natural disasters. Consider the recent increase in volcanic activity and earth quakes over the last month.
On 6 September, 2000, the Tavurvur volcano in Papua New Guinea erupted sending thick clouds of ash over the town of Rabual. Tavurvur began to show signs of increased activity last week. On Monday, September 4th, 2000, two volcanoes exploded in Mexico & Guatemala. The same day as volcano "Popo" exploded near its capital city, another volcano erupted near the capital city of Guatemala. Volcan de Fuego, near Guatemala City, erupted shooting a 2,600-foot column of smoke and ash into the sky. (In the presence of two witnesses a thing is confirmed.) In New Zealand, the White Island volcano continues to produce a gas and a steam with the likelihood that further explosive eruptions are possible -- along with the very large earthquake they just had, looks like this area is heating up as well.
In Japan, things are getting dicey. They have had over 70,000 quakes this summer and on Tuesday., September 5th, 2000 another volcano comes back to life -- Mount Komagatake, on Japan's main island of Hokkaido, erupted. Fortunately, a warning was issued when smoke was detected and 60,000 residents in five cities were warned -- five hours later the volcano exploded.
The 70,000 quakes which have rattled the Izu islands chain, about 120 miles south of Tokyo this summer, were accompanied by a volcano which blew its top -- prompting many to wonder if a major quake is about to strike the capital. Major media have quoted experts, some with impressive credentials, as saying the quakes jolting the Izu chain could signal a big one is heading for Tokyo. Megumi Mizoue, head of a group of professors who advises the Meteorological Agency on earthquake prediction. was quoted as saying, ``The quake on the Izu island of Niijima (on July 15) was a dangerous indicator of a Tokyo region quake," and that the Izu quakes could trigger a Tokyo region earthquake ``if the epicenters shift in a northwesterly direction.''
In any event, Tokyo is all ready suffering with the health ramifications of the latest volcanic eruptions where Sulfur Dioxide in the air is now at 10 times normal.
Japan has had a rough summer. On Wed., August 30th, the entire population of Japan's Miyakejima Island to was ordered to evacuate as the area was jolted by tens of thousands of earthquakes as well as volcanic eruptions during the past two months. Of note is that . Miyakejima, is only about 100 miles from Tokyo. If Tokyo is hit by quake of the magnitude of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, not only will walls in Tokyo fall, but so will the world stock markets taking with them the world economies and billions of dollars of paper wealth will be erased over night.
Consider the wisdom of Solomon: "Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Give a serving to seven, and also to eight, for you do not know what evil will be on the earth." (Ecc 11:1-2_
If there were to be a major quake in Tokyo, in addition to a possibe world-wide economic collapse, the battle cry of the One-World-Order elitists will be heard: "Out of Chos -- Order." But, unfortunately, it may be the type of "order" that the anti-christ will use to ursurp authority from the nations of the world. In any case, if it were to happen, it would be short-lived. Consider what the Lord thinks of these schemes of the wicked in Psalm 2:
"Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, "Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us." He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The LORD shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure: "Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion." "I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.' " Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, And rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him."
We need to put our trust in the Lord and recognize that he will only allow the wicked to prosper for a season to fulfill His plans and righteous judgements.
To add insult to injury, in addition to Japan's volcanoes erupting and the tens of thousands of quakes, now they've had to face unprecedented flooding -- at least 23 inches of rain fell in Tokai, Japan on September 12th, 2000. Rescuers are using boats to reach stranded victims of one of the worst flood events in Japan. Torrential rainfall filled streets and homes to waist-level early Tuesday, killing seven people in Nagoya. The incredible rains triggered power outages and mudslides also.. The governor of the area requested disaster relief from Japan's government. In Tokyo, a tornado ripped through a residential area, destroying the roofs of several homes.
The amount of "extraordinary" seismic activity is said to be fraying the nerves of the Japanese. Most experts agree that Tokyo is overdue for a large quake and suicides in Japan hit a record high for the second straight year.
God is speaking! Is anyone listening?
The seismic activity is occurring in diverse places just as predicted by Jesus in Matthew 24. For example, on Aug 29,2000, Italy's Mount Etna Volcano erupted raining ash on the Sicilian city of Catania to the south. In 1987, it claimed the lives of nine tourists when they hiked too close to the edge of an active crater. On the 23rd of August, the Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica erupted and killed one person and injured two others. On Wed Aug 16,2000. the White Island volcano in New Zealand was reported to be continuing to continues to produce gas and a steam plume that contains some ash -- the likelihood of further explosive eruptions remains high.
Earthquake activity in general is continuing to increase in both intensity and diversity. For example, on Tuesday, September 12,2000, a strong earthquake with magnitude 5.9 struck Colombia, an earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale rattled Qinghai, China and a 6.1 earthquake hit southwest of Sumatera, Indonesia where this past Sunday there were several moderate quakes, followed by a 6.0 quake and then the 6.1 quake on Tuesday. The Columbia quake was felt across a broad swath of northern and central Colombia, but its potentially deadly impact was curbed by the fact that it occurred more than 490 feet below ground. On Wed., September 6th, 2000 a 5.3 earthquake rocked the Sumatra Islands southwest of Bengkulu -- this is the same city that was just rocked by a major earthquake of 7.9 magnitude on June 4th of this year -- about 100 people died, and thousands were left homeless. On Sunday, September 10, 2000, Taiwan was shaken by a strong 6.2 magnitude earthquake followed by several moderate-size quakes which caused power outages and landslides about 110 miles south of the capital, Taipei. On Friday, September 8, 2000, two moderately strong quakes hit the Philippines. A magnitude 5.6 quake hit on Friday, followed by a 5.2 quake on Sunday. There was also a magnitude 5.8 earthquake that shook the South Indian Ocean Friday. And there were several quakes in Indonesia on Sunday: a 5.2, a 5.3, then followed by the stronger magnitude 6.0 quake. Nicaragua was not spared either, as it was rocked by a 5.3 Sunday also. In Western India, on Wed., September 6th, 2000, two moderate earthquakes and seven aftershocks jolted parts of western India causing walls to crack. The first in the recent series of quakes was of 5.4 magnitude,
There have been some very large quakes in recent days. A monster 7.3 strong quake hit New Zealand on August 15th; Mexico was jolted by 7.0 earthquake on August 9th; and a 7.3 quake hit the small islands in southern Japan on August 6th. On August 23rd, A strong quake vexed the people of turkey as it hit western Turkey in the same area of last year's earthquake -- which killed 17,000 people and destroyed hundreds of thousands of buildings. In Taiwan, two earthquakes hit on August 25th just as they were trying to recover from the devastation of the recent Super Typhoon Bilis. And on Tuesday, Aug. 29,2000 yet another major earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 rattled the eastern Indonesian city of Ambon on Tuesday, causing residents to flee their homes in panic, seismologists said. This was a few hours after 3 other major quakes hit along Indonesia and the Banda Sea areas. Those 3 previous quakes had magnitudes of: 5.7, 6.8, and 5.9. The 6.4 quake occurred five minutes after midnight near the city of Ambon in the Maluku islands, also known as the Moluccas, where thousands of people have been killed in Muslim-Christian fighting during the past 20 months.
Things are definitely beginning to shake and America is also starting to show some activity.
In the article http://www.prophecyandcurrentevents.com/thglory/amup0816.htm, "America is Burning," I wrote:
"In 1 Kings 19:9-12, we find that wind, earthquake and fire, is another pattern of judgment. Let's go back to 1989. First there was Hurricane Hugo (a level-4 storm), then the Houston Oil Refinery explosion and fire, and then the San Francisco earthquake (three billion in property damage). More recently, we have experienced Hurricane Andrew (a level-5 storm; sustained winds of 200 miles per hour with tornadoes packed inside of it), the California Firestorms (over 200,000 acres burned), and the Los Angeles earthquake (estimated damage, 13 to 20 billion -- the worst in U.S. history). We are currently experiencing fires at an unprecedented proportion. The Hurricane season has yet to get under way and although there is an upswing in world-wide earthquake and volcanic activity the U.S.A. has not experienced much in recent days. It may be that this will soon change as we continue to move farther and farther from God."
On August 18th, 2000 the sixth earthquake within two weeks hit the Texas Panhandle city of Amarillo. It was a small quake (3.9), but nonetheless the largest in a series of minor earthquakes in the area. Several other U.S. areas have been shaking including a 3.7 quake off the Oregon's coastlines, a 2.5 quake in New York and a 3.9 at the Missouri-Arkansas border. On Tue., Sep 5, 2000, a sharp jolt that caused millions of dollars in damage in California's Napa Valley -- the magnitude 5.2 quake hit early on a previously unknown fault. Nevada has also experienced some shaking experiencing at least 3 moderate quakes on September 1st, 2000 -- . A 3.7, a 4.0, and then another 3.7 quake.
Earlier this year, the USGS researchers' observations agreed with a University of Oregon team study that the Cascade range (Mt. St. Helens) has been once again spewing tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and bears watching.
Let us carefully consider the words of Jesus:
"And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. 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. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilence, and earthquakes in various places. "All these are the beginning of sorrows." (Matt 24:4-8)
As we see the signs of His return drawing close, what manner of holy life should we be living? Remember that Jesus is returning for a Holy and Spotless Bride. Whether His return is today or 10 years from now is irrelevant since eternity is only a heart beat away for any of us. So choose this day whom you will serve, ask the Holy Spirit to search you to see if there be any iniquity in you, and then call upon Jesus your Deliverer. He is faithful for forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unfaithfulness.
For more information on the prophetic significance of earthquakes, please visit:
http://www.prophecyandcurrentevents.com/thglory then click on "Prophetic Analysis", then click on on "Signs Below", and then select the article: "Matthew 24 -- Signs of His Return"
"Watch and pray, therefore, that you would be counted worthy to escape the judgment that is coming upon the earth and be able to stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:36).
Maranatha!
Expect the Unexpected - Part 1
Expect the Unexpected - Part 2
Expect the Unexpected - Part 3
Expect the Unexpected - Part 4
Expect the Unexpected - Part 5
Matthew 24 -- Current Events and the Signs of the End of the Age -- Part 1
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