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.
Waves of Earthquakes, Aftershocks Continue to Shake America: Build Up to the Big One or Blessing in Disguise? More than 100,000 aftershocks have rumbled California since a July 4 quake hit the Mojave Desert, followed by a 7.1 magnitude quake the next day. In October, five (5) large earthquakes shook the Pacific Ocean off the Oregon coast.
11-21-2019 Paul Strand CBN News.
Video Here:
2019 has been blessedly free of any killer earthquakes in the United States. But there have been many thousands of smaller ones and they’ve been spread across the nation. Is the ground beneath our feet building up to something catastrophic? Or could these smaller quakes be a blessing that’s saving us from major disaster?
Scientist Jeff Zweerink at California’s Reasons to Believe Institute explained no seismologist can really say whether these smaller quakes will lead to the Big One many fear. And they might actually hold off the Big One.
“As plates move, there’s going to be energy built up there,” he told CBN News. “And so in some sense, a whole bunch of small earthquakes may be better than a couple of larger ones, because you kind of dissipate that energy little bits at a time instead of having one big one that releases all the energy.”
100,000 Aftershocks
More than 100,000 aftershocks have rumbled California since a July 4 quake hit the Mojave Desert, followed by a 7.1 magnitude quake the next day.
In October, five (5) large earthquakes shook the Pacific Ocean off the Oregon coast. It’s worrisome since that’s home to the Cascadia Subduction Zone, and important because it could someday unleash what’s likely to be America’s deadliest natural disaster on everything west of Interstate 5. It could be a triple whammy of killer quakes, tsunamis hundreds of feet high, and erupting volcanoes along the Cascade Range.
Zweerink suggested it’s no surprise there’s so much action on the West Coast.
“You
just look around the whole Pacific Ocean. That area is just surrounded by
tectonic plates that are moving and sliding over one another,” Zweerink
explained. “There are just faults littered throughout this region, because
this is where all that tectonic activity is happening.”
Most California Buildings Still Uninsured for Quakes
And while he thinks California’s prepared well for its inevitable quakes, nine out of 10 commercial buildings and eight out of 10 homes there still have no earthquake insurance.
Seismologist Lucy Jones warned her fellow Californians, “We’re going to have a lot more earthquakes and we’re going to have a lot more shaking.”
Jones estimates if that Mojave Desert
quake had struck Los Angeles instead, it might have cost $200 (5+5=5+5) billion
in damages.
Elsewhere, more than 140 quakes shook Oklahoma just in October. But they may
have an interesting origin.
Zweerink described them as, “Small-scale earthquakes that it looks like are human-caused. Some of that’s related to the way we’re drilling for oil down there. We extract the oil and we inject water back in and it just kind of shifts the balance a bit and so the earth kind of readjusts and it comes back to a more equilibrium state.”
But he doesn’t find the swarms of quakes around the US at all surprising.
“You look across the United States and there are places where earthquakes have just always happened,” Zweerink noted. “There’s some stuff in the Midwest, the Missouri area – the New Madrid fault. There’s obviously stuff along the California coast. These are just places where we expect tectonic activity to happen.”
The Best Attitude
This man of science and faith advised folks not to let the fear of quakes eat them up.
“You
exaggerate it and say ‘Oh, we’re in imminent danger of having this Big One
that’s going to wipe out humanity.’ Well, just as a Christian, I see it’s best
to be aware of what’s going on, be adequately prepared and knowledgeable of it,
but not make it a bigger deal than it is,” he said.
Zweerink’s other recommendation: do everything FEMA advises in its
“When the Earth Shakes” video– available on
YouTube — and you should be good to go.
In one part of that video, the narrator asks, “Are your emergency kits packed? And what about your family and friends – do they know what to do, how to get in touch, and where to meet?”
The video advises during a quake, “Drop to hands and knees to avoid falling down. Protect yourself from debris: seek protection under a sturdy table, next to low furniture, an interior wall or in a corner.”
If you’re outside when a quake hits, it suggests, “Drop to avoid falling down.”
Categories: Earthquakes update