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Earthquakes In The Last Days

3/13/2011

8 Comments

 
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Earthquakes have this way of putting everything into perspective, don't they? In a mere moment, mighty man and all of his inventions and knowledge are brought to rubble. Thousands of lives are forever altered by a single, devastating event. Makes one stop and think about what's important...

Jesus prophesied of great earthquakes as a sign of the end times. The disciples asked, “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. (Matthew 24:4-8)

Jesus didn't answer the question about the end times with how to reinforce our houses, how to position ourselves to make gains in the stock market or to where to move to avoid these last days earthquakes. Rather, Jesus addresses our soul starting with, “Take heed that no man deceive you...”

We should be ready always at all times to meet our maker, because our personal world could change in the blink of an eye by simply driving to work. Here is a dose of perspective:

Reports from Toyko say that the death toll from the March 11, 2001

magnitude-8.9 earthquake in Japan could exceed 10,000.

According to Car-Accidents.com, between 2002 – 2005, 

the average number of deaths from automobile accidents 
EVERY YEAR in the United States: 42,698. 

Interesting things... 

Now back to our every day world... Can we see a little bit of ourselves in this parable?

And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 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. 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. 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? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. (Luke 12:16-21)

Biblical earthquakes and other world events grab our attention and remind us that we are living in the last days.  The Lord's return is closer now than ever before and we should be ready to meet him. How can we be ready? Remember how Jesus said, “Take heed that no man deceive you?” How do we avoid deception? By taking responsibility for our own faith. Have a real relationship with Christ. Don't just hear the word - do it! 

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 
(James 1:22)

If we don't know the scriptures, we won't know our God! We won't know truth or a lie when we hear it. His word will save us if we'll read it and obey it!

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. (Matthew 7:24-7)

Let's not wait until tragedy strikes before we seek the Lord and serve him with all of our hearts. 

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matthew 7:21-23)

Let's be ready to meet our God no matter what happens tomorrow.

Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. (Matthew 25:13)


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8 Comments
Chris
3/13/2011 10:15:26 am

Another great post Pat. The events unfolding around us are an excellent way to reach out and give people hope and point them to Jesus. You do that very well! Thank you for speaking the Truth in love!

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Patrick Sipperly link
3/13/2011 10:32:38 am

Thanks for the encouraging words, Chris. You are as well! Let us encourage each other on as the days ahead grow more challenging!

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Patty Tillerson
3/13/2011 11:18:44 pm

I think that Jesus is really speaking to the lack of spirituality in us as we seek security through material things.
My personal belief has been that the "end" for each of us is when we die---he is there for believers and doers of the word and thus, we should not fear.

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Patty Tillerson
3/14/2011 01:15:59 am

I believe that what Jesus was addressing were the danger when materialism trumps spirituality. My personal belief is that the end time comes from each of us when we die and that Jesus comes for us at that time and our spiritual bodies continue to live---heaven is all around us!
This "end of times" stuff misses the point; however, it saddens me that many use that to scare folks to become believers, rather than emphasizing the true teachings of Christ, which are summed up in the greatest commandment:
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, and your neighbor as yourself". Living that commandment is true security. Always keep in mind that "God is Love".

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Cindy Martinez
3/14/2011 10:53:59 am

When my dad was alive he had a way of predicting the future. He said the Holy Spirit would show him things and he was always right. He told me that Japan had a major problem with abortions. Teenage girls could get them without telling the father of the child or their parents and women were having abortions in record numbers. He was heartbroken when he heard about it and he said that God was going to bring a major disaster upon Japan. Earthquakes happen anywhere but I’m amazed that his prediction about disaster in Japan came true.

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Patrick Sipperly link
3/15/2011 12:59:40 am

Thanks for the comments everyone!

Patty, you bring up some interesting things to consider. You say, "This 'end of times' stuff misses the point; however, it saddens me that many use that to scare folks to become believers..."

Do you mind if I ask why you feel this way? Do you feel this is a man made teaching and not found in the scriptures?

Reply
Patrick Sipperly link
3/15/2011 12:02:20 pm

Thank you for responding, Patty. We're going to differ a bit on this topic. Here's what God says about his word in a few places...

Proverbs 30:5-6 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Psalms 12:6-7 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.

There are many other places that tell us of the perfection of the Word of God. The more I read and the longer I live the more I'm convinced of the frailty and impurity of man and the perfection of the scriptures. Psalm 119:142 says, Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth. It doesn't just contain truth - it is the truth.

How comforting has it been to travelers down through the ages to look up and see the North Star right where it's supposed to be. So to is the Bible, true to the very last punctuation mark no matter what the ebb and flow of society says.

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Jeff link
3/18/2011 10:54:23 am

Some more stats. Car accidents is a ways down the list.


Cause   Percent of deaths
Cardiovascular diseases 29.34
Infectious and parasitic diseases 23.04
Ischemic heart disease 12.64
Malignant neoplasms (cancers) 12.49
Cerebrovascular disease (Stroke) 9.66
Respiratory infections 6.95
Lower respiratory tract infections 6.81
Respiratory diseases 6.49
Unintentional injuries 6.23
HIV/AIDS 4.87
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 4.82
Perinatal conditions 4.32
Digestive diseases 3.45
Diarrhea diseases 3.15
Intentional injuries (Suicide, Violence, War, etc.) 2.84
Tuberculosis 2.75
Malaria 2.23
Lung cancers 2.18
Road traffic accidents 2.09

and...

Cause Annual number of deaths resulting
----- ---------------------------------
Smoking tobacco 435,000 deaths or 18.1% of the total deaths.[3]
Overweight and Obesity 111,909 deaths or 4.6% of the total deaths.
Alcohol 85,000 deaths or 3.5% of the total deaths.[3]
Infectious diseases 75,000 deaths or 3.1% of the total deaths.[3]
Toxic agents including Toxins, Particulates and Radon 55,000 deaths or 2.3% of the total deaths.[3]
Traffic collisions 43,000 deaths or 1.8% of the total deaths.[3

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