On Sunday, Dec. 26, 2004, an earthquake in the Indian Ocean, which registered a magnitude 9.0 on the Richter scale, triggered massive killer waves known as tsunamis that as of Jan. 2, 2005 had been known to have caused as many as 150,000 deaths. The number of dead is expected to dramatically increase as the disastrous after effects from disease, pestilence, injuries and contaminated water take their toll.
As of this date, it is estimated that over 500,000 are injured and up to five million are now homeless. The faithful of the Church are deep in prayer for the people of the nations which are suffering and are making contributions that bring glory to the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Luke 21:25-26 Jesus prophesied that at the close of the age great distress and perplexity would come upon the nations as they experienced among other things, "the sea and the waves roaring."
Quoting Jesus we read, "And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken."
The fearful earthshaking event the world has just witnessed was so powerful that scientists have detected that the earth's wobble has increased significantly and that the rotation of the globe has been affected by a fraction of a second. They also report that the area's tectonic plates may have slipped as much as 95 miles or more. So ends any doubts that the earth can be moved as is prophesied in such passages as Isaiah 13:13 where God has foretold us, "Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth will move out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts and in the day of His fierce anger."
Environmentalists and health organizations are apprehensive that there will be far reaching ramifications in the ocean and on land as the massive amounts of debris and sewage sucked out to sea may have seriously damaged, or even destroyed the delicate life supporting eco system of the coral reefs, while on land fresh water wells and farmland have been contaminated by sea water and pollutants.
Scientists report that sea level changes were recorded around the world. A message has truly been sent to all the continents of the earth.
The world is swiftly being prepared for the arrival of the prophesied Tribulation when its Christ rejecting populace will receive the Anti-Christ. As global desperation cries out louder and with ever greater desperation for a savior, then will appear front and center their unanticipated replacement for Christ. Instead of a man of divine purity and the giver of eternal life they will receive a man of sin and death.
The recent foreshadow of the horror to come is dramatic and unmistakable to the students of Bible prophecy. The far reaching destruction of the Indian Ocean earthquake brings to mind the coming prophesied Tribulation earthquake of Revelation 16:18-20 where we are told that it will be, "a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth...and the cities of the nations fell," and that, "every island fled away and the mountains were not found."
The reported increase in the earth's wobble reminds us of the prophecy of the coming days of Isaiah 24:19-20 when, "The earth is violently broken, The earth is split open, the earth is shaken exceedingly. The earth shall stagger to and fro like a drunkard, and shall totter like a hut..."
Even the change in the speed of the earth's rotation brings to mind a possible unique fulfilment of the prophecy of Jesus' words in Matthew 24:22 where He told us when speaking of the days of the great Tribulation, "And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved..."
But most of all we should consider in light of Jesus' prophecy the limited preview shown to the world of what will happen in the coming days of "the sea and the waves roaring" (Lk. 21:25). For this we will review our Rapture Watch message, "Destruction of U.S.A. will come from Earth's Four Corners."
We quote, "Over the years students of Bible prophecy have endeavored to find where God may have revealed the fate of the United States in His Word. One popular teaching is that the prophecies given for Babylon in Chapters 50 & 51 of the Old Testament Book of Jeremiah are in actuality allegorical prophecies against the U.S.A.
This action can quickly be disproved by reading verses 60-62 of Jer. Ch. 51. There we are told with all certainty by God's inerrant Word that the prophecies given in Jeremiah's Chapters 50 & 51 are against the literal, geographical land of Babylon. It is this same geographical Babylon which has been rebuilt in Iraq in these last days and awaits the inevitable fulfillment of Bible prophecy.
This must be so since, according to God's Word, once geographical Babylon is destroyed in fulfillment of this prophecy it will remain desolate forever. Obviously the existence of geographical Babylon in Iraq in 2002 proves that this prophecy remains unfulfilled.
Quoting Jer. 51:61-62 we read, "And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, "When you arrive in Babylon and see it, and read all these words, "then you shall say, "O Lord, You have spoken against this place to cut it off, so that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but it shall be desolate forever."
It is also maintained by some that "Babylon the Great," prophesied of in Revelation Chapters 18 & 19, is in fact the United States.
Although we are in agreement that the Babylon written of in these passages is a symbolic representation of the world dominating power at the close of the age, we must disagree that it is the United States of America.
The reason for our position is due to what we believe is formidable, scriptural and scientific evidence, which reveal a catastrophic fate awaits the continent of North America approximately 3 ½ years prior to the destruction of Revelation's Babylon the Great.
On Aug. 24, "01 it was reported on Paul Harvey's News and Comment that the first ever Tsunami (that is tidal wave) detector had been anchored to the bottom of the ocean off of the North American seacoast. More Tsunami detectors were planned to be put in place in the future.
I've found it intriguing that in these last days there is serious concern that America might someday be struck by great tidal waves.
Looking a short number of years into the future, while keeping the thought of great tidal waves in mind, we can reasonably surmise by the Scriptures the impending fate of the United States and why the Bible makes no clear reference to America being in any place of prominence at the conclusion of the age.
Quoting from the prophecy found in the Bible Book of Revelation 7:1-3 we read the following: "After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, "Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads."
Man's limited understanding causes him to be skeptical of this prophecy by immediately questioning the statement about the angels standing at "the four corners of the earth." But God's truth is always greater than the limited understanding of men as is proven by this article from the June 19, 1965 edition of Science Newsletter (#87:390) which is titled, "Earth Has Four Corners."
Quoting from this article, which was recovered from microfilm at the Colorado Springs, Pikes Peak Library, we read the following: "The Earth has four corners, measurements made of earth-circling satellites have shown…The four-cornered, or pyramid-like, design was found by calculating the changes in the orbits of globe-girdling satellites. At the center of the high points, the satellites were pulled downward a few hundred feet by the unexpectedly high gravity…The new figure for earth was found by scientists at John Hopkin's Applied Physics Laboratory in Silver Spring, Md., working under a contract for the U.S. Navy's Bureau of Naval Weapons."
The report included a world map that shows all four of the Earth's high corners are located in the Earth's oceans and that there are also four low spots, which are additionally found in the vast oceans. Each of the high spots covers several thousand square miles of ocean and were a staggering 220 feet "higher" than what the equalized average depth of the ocean should be in that area. The low points on the other hand are apx. 253 feet "below" [what should be] the stabilized oceans average.
The perplexing question is, "What is holding back these seething mountains of water from rushing to fill the low spots?"
The basic understanding of gravity demands that these elevated waters respond to its downward pull.
The scientifically supported answer is found revealed clearly in God's Word. Quoting from Rev. Ch. 7:1 we once more read the following prophecy: "After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree."
According to David Ebaugh, an Electronics Engineer who worked with the very first satellites to discover the 4 ocean high points, it was determined that prevailing winds are producing surface friction upon the water, which in turn causes these thousands of square miles of ocean to mass up to such great heights.
Our major jetstreams were not only found to be the cause of the high spots as they curve upward, but that they also cause the low spots where the winds blow downward, pushing the water away.
The obvious question of paramount importance is, "What will happen when the 4 angels of God stop these winds from blowing?"
Reading in the latter part of verse 2 of Rev. 7 we find the answer to this question, "And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea." These words are more incredible proof that the only true God is warning a rebellious world of things to come.
When the winds stop blowing as prophesied, all of the oceans will seek their own level. Tidal waves of truly monstrous proportions will form as thousands upon thousands of square miles of ocean race with incredible building momentum towards the low spots. When the tremendous accumulated kinetic energy from these tidal waves crash against and over the low lying continents and islands, vast areas of land will suddenly disappear.
Landmasses averaging just over 200 ft. above sea level will suddenly become oceans, seas and great salt lakes. Crustal changes will take place upon the earth under the great pressures and violent redistribution of the earth's waters. Land will suddenly appear where it has not been seen since the great flood of Noah's day as presently heightened ocean locations retreat to new areas.
Most certainly the earth will be harmed in that day, but then what of the sea?
As the waters cover the landmasses, inconceivable pollution of the Oceans will take place as toxic waste dumps, nuclear plants, chemical factories and sewage plants are suddenly submerged under water.
After the energy of the tidal waves is exhausted and the waters retreat to ocean average, the injury will continue as arable lands, lakes, streams and aquifers remain contaminated by toxic pollutants, decaying animals and of course, salt.
To our knowledge no calculations are presently available as to how large of tidal waves will be produced by this devastating judgment from God, nor how far inland the initial momentum of the raging waters will invade affected continents.
As may have been realized by now, the critical factor of who will receive the brunt of these cataclysms is determined by where a land mass is found in relationship to where the low spots of the Oceans are located.
The Ocean's high spots are located off of Ireland, Peru, Madagascar and the Philippines.
The first two low points are found off of India and Antarctica.
The last two are found off of the East and West coasts of North America by California and Florida.
Consider the following examples for what lies in store for the United States: California is 74 ft. below what will be future ocean average, Florida is 187 ft. below and Washington is 212 ft. below.
In Rev. 7:1 God also made mention that the winds will not blow "on any tree." Keep this in mind when considering the complications which will arise with crop pollination.
Additionally, what will become of the weather patterns and those who are trapped under bubbles of stationary air pollution when God stops the winds? Of significant interest to prophecy students is the fact that when this judgment takes place, roughly in the middle of the prophesied final 7 years before Christ returns, is that the remaining geographic regions which will be undamaged by the initial Tsunamis are those very same areas which are prophesied to be competing for global control during the final half of the 7 year tribulation!
The stimulus and opportunity for world dominion will be obvious as the entire face of the earth is reconfigured.
The destruction and resulting chaos will change everything, but just as God promised after the flood in Genesis 9:11, the earth's population will not be annihilated by this catastrophe.
As certain as God's Word is true and sure about future judgment, so too is it just as true and faithful about His promise of salvation and eternal life. You need not be looking upon Earth for these terrible things which are soon to take place, but instead you could be looking steadfastly towards Heaven for the glorious appearing of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
If this is your desire then today is the day to come to God believing with faith for the forgiveness of your sins in the name of God's only begotten Son Jesus Christ who shed His blood on the cross almost 2,000 years ago.
One day very soon, "…the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord" (I Thess. 4:16-17)."