Feeling our bed shake in the middle of the night during an earthquake
in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, the Philippines, was a scary
and unusual experience for us. We jumped out of bed and rushed upstairs
to get our children to the downstairs living room in case of an
aftershock. In the light of day, it turned out to be a minor earth
tremor that had caused minor damage.
Earthquakes have been with us since the beginning of recorded
history. Some have had devastating effects. On All Saints' Day,
November 1, 1755, Lisbon, Portugal, experienced three great shock
waves, which demolished all the houses in the lower city in rapid
succession. At noon, as a cloud of dust covered the ruined city,
the last shock was felt. The Royal Palace, the recently completed
Opera House, and the magnificent cathedral, which, although damaged,
had survived the earthquake, were consumed by fire. Sixty thousand
people perished in that terrible disaster. Voltaire, the embodiment
of French 18th century Enlightenment asked, "Why could it not have
burst forth in the midst of an uninhabited desert? Why is Lisbon
engulfed while Paris, no less wicked, dances?"
Toward the end of the eighteenth century, human societies began
to consider earthquakes as natural phenomena rather than God's retribution
of sin. For millions of people God no longer exists. Many point
to evolutionary theories and insights gained by scientific research
to show that the world exists on its own. They think of the Bible
as a myth, a projection of religious symbolism and mythology. In
Why the Earth Quakes: The Story of Earthquakes and Volcanoes, Matthys
Levy and Mario Salvadori argue, "For the first time in human history
the causes of these devastating physical phenomena, only a few centuries
ago considered to be 'the acts of God', are now understood and it
is up to us to avoid their worst consequences." If earthquakes are
no more than natural phenomena, endless meaningless disasters, or
scenes of a world without God, where then is hope? But from the
biblical perspective, earthquakes have meaning.
The Earth is the Lord's
The attitude of modern Western people to nature is vastly different
from the outlook of the Bible. When we look at the stars, we think
in terms of light-years and the possibility of interplanetary travel,
but for the biblical writer the night sky was a breathtaking display
of the wisdom, power, and glory of the Creator (Job 38:31-33; Ps.
19:1-4; Isa. 40:25-26). We experience the cycles of days and seasons
in terms of schedules of work and holidays, whereas the Israelites
saw in them a sign of the covenant faithfulness of God (Gen. 1:14-19).
The courses of the stars, the circuits of the winds, and the meandering
of the streams were all ascribed to the activity of God (Job 38:24;
Ps.104:10; Jer.10:13).
In Scripture, the regularities of nature bear witness to the
providential love and power of God. Unlike modern science and technology,
therefore, based on the premise that the same causes under the same
conditions always produce the same effects, the biblical writers
believed that the outcome of all events depended on the will of
God. In many places in Scripture, great convulsions of nature are
spoken of in connection with special manifestations of God. Through
sudden changes in the course of nature, He delivered His people
from the their enemies and brought judgment on the wicked. The burning
of Sodom and Gomorrah, the plagues in Egypt, the parting of the
Red Sea, and the dramatic change of the course of sun at Gibeon
are well-known God-directed events.
The Role of Earthquakes in Scripture
In Scripture earthquakes have a prominent role. The
whole of Mount Sinai "trembled violently" when God gave the Law
(Ex. 19:18). God punished disobedient Korah. The ground "split apart,
opened its mouth, and swallowed" Korah and his companions (Numbers
16:32). In the days of King Saul, God sent an earthquake to deliver
the Israelites from the Philistine army (1 Sam. 4:15). A terrible
earthquake took place in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah. According
to Jewish historian Josephus (Antiq. X,4), it shook the ground.
A rent was made in the Temple so that the rays of the sun shone
through it, which, falling upon the king's face, struck him with
leprosy. This was a punishment that the historian ascribes to the
wrath of God as consequence of Uzziah's usurpation of the priest's
office. That this earthquake was of an awful character may be learned
from the fact that Zechariah (14:5) refers to it. It also appears
from the prophet Amos's words "two years before the earthquake"
(1:1) that the event was extremely traumatic. It left such deep
impressions on men's minds, that it became a sort of epoch from
which to set dates. In the reign of Herod (Sept. 2, 31 B.C.) an
earthquake occurred in Judea, "such as had not happened at any other
time," destructive to men and animals (Antiq. xv.v.2)
The Fall
People often struggle with questions about why there are natural
calamities such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, droughts, and
other disasters that cause great suffering. Although the Bible does
not explain these things in detail, it does state that the whole
natural creation has been severely disrupted because of the fall
of Adam and Eve into sin. Sin brought corruption to all of life,
material and immaterial.
The very characteristics of the physical world have been altered
radically by the Fall. God said, "Cursed is the ground because of
you." (Gen. 3:17) Who cursed the ground? God did. The earth has
been desecrated by its inhabitants. It is the victim of our transgressions
(Hosea 4: 1-3). God announced that the earth would be changed to
produce painful things like thorns and thistles (Genesis 3:18).
Surely this must include other painful things such as the sting
of scorpions and poisonous snakes, which Jesus identified with Satan's
activity (Luke 10:19).
The broader cosmic aspects of the Fall are worked out in Romans
8:18-23. Not only humans, but all nature is subject to the law of
threat and anxiety and death. Their rebellion against God has a
universal dimension. The flood in the time of Noah is an example.
By God's word the earth and the water were formed. "By water also
the world of that time was deluged and destroyed" (2 Peter 3:5-6).
Judgment
At our own peril, we may not dismiss an earthquake as just another
geological occurrence. Each earthquake points to the final judgment.
Between the ascension and our Lord's second coming the Lamb of God
reveals His wrath. He shakes the mountains and makes the earth tremble.
He gives warning signals. The King and Judge of all the earth declares,
"I am coming; prepare to meet Me." The church father Lactantius
(c. 250-325) warned, "Stars will fall in great numbers, so that
all the heavens will appear dark without lights. The loftiest mountains
will also fall and be leveled with the plains. The sea will be rendered
unnavigable. And that nothing may be lacking to evils of men and
the earth, the trumpet will be heard from heaven.... And then everyone
will tremble and quake at that mournful sound." In other words,
God lets us know that no one can sin against Him and get away with
it. It will be payday some day.
But is each earthquake a judgment of God because of a specific
sin? Is a community that is buried under a landslide more sinful
than a neighboring community that is spared from disaster? Jesus
had something to say about those moments when nature lashes out
seemingly at random. He referred to a tower that collapsed, killing
eighteen people (Luke 13:4). Whether it fell because of an earthquake
or a strong wind or the natural processes of decay is irrelevant.
The crucial fact is that eighteen bystanders, minding their own
business, were crushed to death in an instant.
Jesus' question went to the heart of the issue: Were these eighteen
people more wicked than anyone else in Jerusalem? His answer was,
"No." The real lesson of the fallen tower was not that natural disasters
help us to find the worst sinners, but that the fallen world does
not offer guarantees. Any of us can be snuffed out at any moment
by a wide variety of means.
Redemption
An earthquake not only points to judgment, but also to redemption.
An earthquake accompanied both the death and resurrection of Jesus
(Matt. 27: 51; 28:2). In obedience to His Father's will Jesus went
to the cross. At the moment of Jesus' death, God caused the earth
to quake, the rocks were split, and the tombs were opened. The earthquake
shows that His death has significance for the entire universe. It
foreshadows the restoration of the earth, divine harmony and order.
There is going to be a new heaven and a new earth (Rev. 21:1). It
would not have been possible apart from our Lord's atoning death.
The earthquake at the resurrection of Christ was a miraculous
shaking of the ground in the particular place where the tomb was
located. The reason for it was the descent from heaven of God's
special messenger, an angel. He stepped forward and must have taken
the stone completely out of its groove and turned it over on its
side. The result? The heavy stone was lying flat on the ground and
the angel was sitting on it, to symbolize Christ's triumph (Matt.
28:2). As Dr. William Hendriksen put it, "By means of the resurrection
of Christ from the grave, and the mighty earthquake that appropriately
accompanied it, 'the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ' not only laughed
in the faces of the plotters who had requested this guard; he also
smiled benignly upon all his dear children, for what he was actually
saying was this: 'I have accepted my Son's sacrifice as a complete
ransom for all the sin of all who take refuge in him' (Rom.4 :25)."
And God used for His redemptive purpose an earthquake in Philippi.
The manifestation of His power brought about the release from prison
of Paul and Silas (Act 16: 26ff).
Signs of the Times
Biblical prophecies reveal that earthquakes point to future
calamitous events. When the disciples asked: "What will be the sign
of your coming and of the close of the age?" (Matt.24: 3) Jesus
replied with an apocalyptic depiction of the end-time. He spoke
of cosmic disasters, the sun and moon ceasing to shine, the stars
falling from heaven, and powers of heaven beings shaken. And Jesus
plainly stated that "famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes,"
are to characterize more and more the coming of the end (Matt.24:7-9).
These prophecies go against the grain of the self-satisfied, secular,
culture-optimists who expect the improvement of the human race to
come via science and technology. They contradict the philosophy
of progress in which the positive elements in humans and nature
will gradually overcome evil. But good and evil, persecutions, calamities,
revolutions, epidemics, and earthquakes will be with us until the
cup of God's wrath is full, culminating in the day of judgment.
Thousands of Christians interpret the disturbances of our time
as the predicted signs of Christ's early return. Aren't we all we
prone to predict, fix, know and predetermine the future, which is
by definition unknowable and undeterminable? No one knows the future.
God keeps the time of Christ's return secret.
Not only does God foresee the future, but He plans it and actually
brings it to pass (Isa. 4:24-27). He has complete knowledge and
control of events, both past and the future. Thus with regards to
the end-time, Jesus said, "about that day or hour no one knows,
neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father"
(Mark 13:32). The time and seasons are fixed by authority of the
Father alone (Acts 1:7; 7:26).
It is futile and sinful to predict the date of Jesus' return.
Curiosity is wonderful, but for impertinence there is no excuse.
Setting a date is trying to know more than the angels in heaven.
The signs of the times mark the beginnings, but not the end. They
are stepping stones to a final goal. God's plan is being carried
forward. While we wait for our Lord's coming, people will eat and
drink and marry and be given in marriage as they did in the days
of Noah (Matt. 24:38).
While we watch the signs of the times, we continue to hope.
The signs are reasons for joyful anticipation. It does not make
the present moment of life less important but it takes away the
fear of sinking into destruction from both our own end and that
of the world. Amid the gathering darkness of our dangerous times,
we continue on in the glowing optimism born of faith in the truth
of the infallible Scriptures. What God has promised, He will do.
His work will be finished. In Christ the creation will be restored
and perfected.
The signs of earthquakes are not in themselves announcements
that the end has arrived. Rather, they are warnings that action
must be taken because God is concluding His dealings with the present
world. The warnings will increase as the last hour draws nearer.
Jesus described them as 'the beginning of birth pains" (Matt. 24:80).
They are signals that greater pain is to come and that something
must be done before it is too late to act. As the church father
Cyprian declared, "Since now the end of the world is at hand; turn
your minds to God, in the fear of God."
The Now and the Not Yet
How should we live as we watch the signs of the time and look
forward to the Lord's return? Do we withdraw from the world and
take shelter in the safety of environment of the community of saints?
The answer is, "No." To wait in the biblical sense is not just to
sit around. It is an active vigilance. The early Christians, with
their gaze confidently set on the fulfillment of God's promises
went into the world to proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom. The waiting
and watching, which the nearness of the last day demands, is not
waiting in panic and fear. It does not involve a suppressing of
the coming end of history which leads to false security of eating
and drinking, of marrying and giving in marriage. It does not cause
us to hide, but it makes us lift up our heads because our redemption
is near and the Son of Man is coming in great power and glory. (Luke
21:26ff.). As we stand before the imminent end of this age, we cannot
fit ourselves in this world. Yet we must be active in it, seeking
to improve it. Therefore, we must proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom.
Roger S. Greenway notes that this gospel calls "for the transformation
of the heart and all of life. It governs how we live as individuals,
families, and communities. It teaches us to show mercy to the poor,
defend the oppressed, and seek reconciliation between hostile sides."
And let us not forget the role of the Church. She is the
hope of the world and is positioned like no other channel of influence
to shape culture. Her people are called to be in the world. As John
Stott puts in Basic Christianity, "We find ourselves citizens of
two kingdoms, the one earthly and the one heavenly. And each citizenship
lays upon us duties which we are not at liberty to evade."
Of course, utopia will not be achieved here on earth. We can
only attempt to make the world a little more just and prosperous
and free. We can try to replace wicked dictatorships by slightly
better democracies. As the German theologian Helmut Thielicke argued:
"Where enthusiastic impatience is held in check by watchful soberness
(1 Thess. 5: 6; 1 Peter 5:5) this activity will always take the
form of an encouragement to take small steps. The modesty of small
steps is possible because there is no illusion that we ourselves
can bring God's kingdom but there is the assurance that it will
come."
Conclusion
A biblical view of the sign of the times shows that life is not
ruled by fate. The Lord is still on the throne. We live with hope.
Death has already been swallowed up in victory (1 Cor. 15:55,57).
Therefore, we cannot and may not surrender to the threats from Islamists
or any other enemies of the gospel. Life is not meaningless. What
we do for the Lord is not futile. When He comes, everything will
be made new. Jesus said, "Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he
who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book" (Rev. 22:7).
Rev. Johan Tangelder is an emeritus pastor in the Christian
Reformed Church. He is a member of East Strathroy CRC in Strathroy,
Ontario. Other articles by Rev. Tangelder can be viewed here
