Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Expected or unexpected

Happenings in Haiti in the past few weeks have caused the nations of the world to respond to the calamitous devastation brought about by the 7magnitude earthquake. It is estimated that the death toll could be between 150,000 and 200,000. Probably most of them around 5pm on Tuesday 12th January were unexpectedly ushered into eternity at that time. Some people buried under collapsed buildings died later when 15 aftershocks, one as high as 5.9 shook the already demolished buildings, causing further collapse in the rubble and cutting off folk from being saved.
The earthquake was not unexpected! Patrick Charles warned in 2008 that the fault line that runs west/east across Haiti could do immense damage to the island if the plates moved. They did move about six miles below the surface and the rest is history. One can ask the question, ‘What warnings were given to the population and what preparations were made for such a thing happening?’

We call to mind December 26th.2004 when a 9.1 to 9.3mag. earthquake hit the Indian Ocean causing the Tsunami to devastate the coastline villages of India, the east of Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia with massive loss of life. The 9.7 quake in Gujarat on 26th. January 2001, and the Great Hanshin 7.2 mag. one at Kobe on January 17th. 1995 also brought enormous destruction and casualties. At the time of the Kobe quake I wrote an article for View From The Pulpit and before publication I sent a copy to Dr. Wayne Richardson at the International Seismological Institute in Wiltshire for him to examine factually. I had heard him on a BBC program talking about earthquakes and I got his phone number and spoke to him. He told me that there is an earthquake every twelve seconds somewhere in the world, most of them are out in the oceans and only measure 2 or 3 mag. therefore little effect is felt by them. For example, I discovered on http://earthquake.usgs.gov/ that during the past week for California and Nevada there was 522 quakes recorded, the highest at 3.2 mag. The following information about earthquake magnitude might be totally unexpected for you to read in this column, but here we go. ‘Seismologists indicate the size of an earthquake in units of magnitude. There are many different ways that magnitude is measured from seismograms because each method only works over a limited range of magnitudes and with different types of seismometers. Some methods are based on body waves (which travel deep within the structure of the earth), some based on surface waves (which primarily travel along the uppermost layers of the earth), and some based on completely different methodologies. However, all of the methods are designed to agree well over the range of magnitudes where they are reliable. Earthquake magnitude is a logarithmic measure of earthquake size. In simple terms, this means that at the same distance from the earthquake, the shaking will be 10 times as large during a magnitude 5 earthquake as during a magnitude 4 earthquake. The total amount of energy released by the earthquake, however, goes up by a factor of 32.’ There are seventy tracking stations globally measuring seismic activity.
What do I deduce from the above facts? I shall not be booking a holiday between late December and late January to anywhere that there is a geological fault line running along the beach!
There are a number of fault lines running across the world, brought about by the earth’s convulsions in the days of Noah, but don’t worry about that, we read in 2Peter 3:13 “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” The question is will you be there? Think about that one!

There are two events that will shake this world shortly. The first will be the return of Christ to the air for His Church. He is going to raise believers that have died and change living believers bodies to be fashioned like to His body of glory (Phil.3). His shout will raise the dead as it did when He raised Lazarus, the trumpet sound will gather and marshal this great band of saints to the air, and the voice of the archangel will authoritatively repel all opposing demonic powers in the air where Satan is their prince. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1Thes.4:16) I sometimes startle folk when I tell them that my wife in hr seventies is expecting! Actually, we both are expecting the coming of the Lord! It is imminent.

At least seven years will run before the second event takes place. Daniel tells us about these seven years in ch.9, in the form of a ‘week’, not a week of days but a week of years and it will be the last one of seventy prophesied by Daniel. Read Sir Robert Anderson’s chronology on this at www.whatsaiththescripture.com/Voice/The.Coming.Prince.4.html. We have a great heritage in the scriptures and men that are competent to teach us the meaning of scriptures if we will but read them.
The Lord Jesus Christ taught His second coming to earth in Matthew ch’s 24 and 25 and He referred to Daniel’s prophecy (24:15) and other happenings prior to His return. He likened these days with the days of Noah, how the few expected the flood to come and the majority did not and they perished. When He comes He said, “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

During those seven years the Church will be in Heaven while the Great Tribulation runs on earth (Rev.ch’s 6 to 19). Those happenings will not be the effect of global warming, which will be the devil’s lie, but the judgement of God upon the world.

What are you expecting? God bless.


Written for Stephen G Baker by Stan Burditt
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