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Mar. 30, 2005 In Matthew 24 verse 7, Jesus spoke these words: "Nation will fight against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. Mat 24:8 All of these are only the beginning pains of the end." I think for the peoples of SE Asia, these words suddenly have real meaning! A devastating tsunami on December 26, 2004 and now a major earthquake on March 28, 2005. Hundreds of thousands died and when the recent quake struck, thousands rushed out of their homes, heading for higher ground. The terror and the stench of death was still very fresh in their minds and hearts. Indonesia, Philipines, Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma), Borneo and Korea are just some of the countries experiencing internal conflict either in the form of civil wars or ongoing skirmishes and riots. Day after day hundreds die or are maimed without ever really understanding any or all of the reasons for the conflicts. Yet I sense that in this part of the globe, something is stirring. The fastest church growth in the world is taking place in SE Asia. Many of the biggest churches in the world are here as well and over 90% of all churches in SE Asia are active, growing and vibrant! Is there a connection? Maybe and then maybe not. But one thing is certain: the signs of the endtimes are abundantly evident! Wars between peoples, kingdoms and nations. Famines, natural disasters and death. Jesus spoke plainly when He said that these events would be hearlds of the endtimes. Beyond this, we have hundreds of nuclear weapons unaccounted for from the old USSR; the terrorist threat has increased exponentially with all means of indiscriminate killing. Amongst all this, Israel and the Palestinians are desparately trying to find a peaceful solution, enabling them to coexist together without destroying each other. All signs and events pointing to the endtimes moving towards us. I found an interesting internet site that lists all the earthquakes in the past few months: http://gldss7.cr.usgs.gov/neis/qed/qed.html Imagine my surprise to find that 76 earthquakes took place around the world on March 1, 2005 alone! They ranged from 2.9 to 5.6 on the Reichter scale. One hundred years ago, that figure barely topped 10 for the month! So why this dramatic increase? Many would ascribe it to pollution, dwindling water resources, ecological overload or over population. Some to a new era of geological events based on their own empirical evidence. Still others would blame it on God or the gods, depending on your religion. Actually, the reason for me is secondary. What grabs my attention is that around 2000 years ago, Jesus predicted that we would see this trend taking place and we are even now! He looked into the future and saw that as the endtimes approached, this would be one of the most recognizeable signs. War, famine and earthquakes. We have all three in increasing abundance. If we accept that these increasing events are pointers to a coming age, what should our response be to them? We can ignore them and ignore the words of Jesus. However this may be like a man jumping from the 100th floor and as he screams downwards, he rages that he doesn't believe in gravity. Alternatively, we can say that Jesus was speaking metaphorically. I wonder how the victims of the recent SE Asian tsunami would react to that one? Lastly we can begin to understand that God is warning us, not about earthquakes, but about the moral landslide taking place around us. The damage to our communities, our social consciences, our relationships and our spiritual awareness can be likened to that caused by a devastating earthquake, whose results can be seen everyday in any newspaper in any country. God is reminding us that it is time to take stock of our lives, time to re-examine what we believe and time to prepare for eternity. It is too late to take safety precautions after the strike. ------------ About the author: Ian Campbell is the author of the novel "The Fifth Cylinder." Ian tells us: "I love writing about issues that we as people wrestle with, both the big and small issues that can affect our lives. Looming just over the horizon are technologies that will utterly transform our communities and our lives. I love writing about how we as a society will live, love and war in that timeframe." Ian lives in Kuala Lumpur with his wife Kaz and is busy working on his second novel. Email: ianc28258@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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