Blog note. Jesus indicated that ‘fearful sights’ (various natural disasters) would occur leading up to the time known as the Tribulation and Great Tribulation (a combined seven year period of great destruction on earth). Although these types of things have occurred in the past for centuries and thousands of years, they could be identified as the ‘season of the times’ due to the ferociousness of these events. They would be occurring in greater intensity, severity, frequency, size, duration, scope … just like the pains that a woman experiences in labor the farther along she is in the labor process. We are in the ‘season of the times’ that comes just before the seven (7) year Tribulation/Great Tribulation period
… And great earthquakes shall be in diverse places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. (Luke 21:11).
… And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; (Luke 21:25)
… Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken; (Luke 21:26)
… This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. (2 Timothy 3:1)
Jesus is giving a series of prophecies about what to look for as the age of grace comes to a close. These verses are several of many such prophecies from throughout the Bible. 2017 was the worst year in recorded history for the intensity, frequency, severity, duration and occurrence of a large number of severe natural disasters worldwide. Earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones, torrential flooding, unprecedented wildfires in unusual places, devastating droughts, excessive/scorching heat setting records everywhere, record snowfalls in Europe and Russia. Snow in the Arabia. This list can go on. Most studied Eschatologists believe these ‘fearful sights’ and massive natural disasters are all part of the ‘CONVERGENCE’ of signs that this Biblical and prophetic age is closing. Most people who study prophecy are familiar with the routine reference(s) made that these things will be like a woman having labor.

6.1 quake causes light damage in Taiwan capital, east coast

RALPH JENNINGS. Associated Press•April 18, 2019

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A strong earthquake shook eastern Taiwan on Thursday afternoon, causing scattered light damage in the capital and along the eastern coast.

The 6.1 magnitude quake was centered northwest of the city of Hualien at a depth of nearly 19 kilometers (12 miles), Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau said.

Water pipes at the city’s train station burst and rail traffic was briefly suspended. Schools along the east coast were evacuated, with students holding their backpacks over their heads for protection. TV news showed at least one landslide in a lightly populated area.

Two hikers in the famed Taroko Gorge national park, including one from Malaysia, were injured by falling rocks, the Hualien government reported.

Traffic through the gorge has been halted while drones and helicopters check for damage, Premier Su Tseng-chang said.

“If it rains, (retaining walls) could fall down, so we urge people not to get close,” he said.

Su said schools, worksites and water, power and transit lines had also been checked for damage. While no major problems were found, cracked road surfaces on the east coast could become a problem if rain falls soon, he said.

In Taipei, about 115 kilometers (70 miles) from the epicenter, people felt buildings shake, and one multistory building was leaning against its neighbor after its foundation shifted. The city’s subway system suspended service.

At the leaning building in downtown Taipei, area resident Ayumi Lin said the earthquake’s force was considerable. “It was really scary,” Lin said. “The quake shook strongly twice.”

The owner of a travel agency in the adjacent building, who gave only his surname, Huang, said all his employees evacuated safely from their 7th floor office. “No one was hurt,” Huang said.

People in Chinese cities close to the Taiwan Strait dividing Taiwan from mainland China reported on social media that they also felt the quake.

Taiwan is on a string of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean known as the “Rim of Fire” and is frequently rocked by tremors, including a 1999 quake that killed more than 2,300 people.

An earthquake in February 2018 in Hualien killed 17 people when four buildings partially collapsed. Two years earlier, an apartment building in the southwestern city of Tainan collapsed in an earthquake, killing 115 people.

The government has set up an elaborate system of alerts, inspections and recovery measures to cope with the frequent quakes. Hao Yilin, an exchange student from China studying at Chinese Culture University in Taipei, said he received a notice on his cellphone seconds before the ground began to shake.

“I wasn’t scared because an earthquake like this is very common and the shaking was tolerable. So I didn’t think of going outdoors and continued to eat lunch while watching a TV series,” Hao said.