A message of hope and caution

A global warning that the Son of God is coming!

Is God speaking through the raging fires?

No-one looking at the terrifying scenes of fire raging in Greece and reading the heart-rending accounts of people being burnt to death could fail to be deeply moved with compassion for those who suffered, and for their family members. The speed with which the fire spread, driven by powerful winds, caught whole communities by surprise and gave them no chance of escape.

Even those who managed to reach the sea were not safe from the choking thick black smoke that enveloped them. Although many were rescued by fishing boats and other craft some drowned before they could be reached, while back on land a whole village was wiped out in unbelievable scenes of devastation, which Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras described as the worst tragedy ever to befall the Greek nation in modern times.

For Bible-believing Christians who believe in the sovereignty of God, there are no easy answers to situations such as this. But we know that everything that happens in the world has either been allowed by God or is part of his will. We also know that God is a God of love who shows unbreakable love towards his people and does not wish tragedy to come upon any of them. John 3:16 is the basic teaching of Jesus about the Father’s love for all people on earth and that he himself was sent for our salvation, not for condemnation.

But tragedies still happen, caused both by human action and by acts of nature. The teaching of Jesus on this subject is found in Luke 12:54-13:5 where Jesus declares that people who suffer in such tragedies are no guiltier than anyone else. He used tragic situations to chide the crowd for not being able to perceive the wider significance of these events, saying:

You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?

God is a God of unbreakable love, but tragedies still occur and we must discern their wider significance.

Burnt-out areas of Mati. Antonis Nikolopoulos/AP/Press Association Images

Purpose in Tragedy

With this principle in mind we have to look at the Greek fires in the wider context right across Europe, where there has been virtually no rain and incredibly high temperatures for nearly two months. It is not only Greece in the far south but also Sweden in the northernmost part of Europe that is suffering incredible forest fires. Britain is similarly affected by unusual heat and dryness. Our normal temperate climate has deserted the land, which has come under the same 30°+C heatwave that is holding the whole continent in its grip, withering crops and causing fires to rage through forests and parched moorland.

Surely there has to be a reason why this is happening to the whole of Europe? Is this not a sign from the Lord about the continent’s moral and spiritual state – the continent where every country has had the Gospel for over 1,000 years and has sent its missionaries across the globe taking the good news of salvation to other lands?

But just look at the spiritual state of Europe today – the most secular humanist continent on earth, which has given birth to the European Union that openly boasts of its pagan links and even celebrates satanism.¹

The European Union has abandoned Europe’s Christian heritage and is driven by powerful anti-Semitic and anti-Christian forces. The same hatred of Jews that drove the Nazis; and the ungodly spiritual forces that have fought against the biblical basis of Protestant Christianity ever since the Reformation, have both re-surfaced in the EU and are driving the Brussels elite. We could be seeing the development of the most God-hating, anti-Semitic, satanic regime since the days of the Tower of Babel.

Understanding the Signs

If we look at what is happening in Europe in the context of biblical teaching of the 8^th Century BC Prophets of Israel, we begin to see the signs of the times in the fires and in the drought that is withholding the rain so desperately needed.

The Prophet Amos saw similar things happening in Israel in his lifetime and the word received as he spread each event before the Lord in prayer was; “Yet you have not returned to me says the Lord”. The warning signs had been ignored.

When the great tragedy of the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar took place, the writer of Lamentations grieved for the terrible suffering of the people but said, “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness”.

He called his fellow countrymen to “examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord…For men are not cast off by the Lord for ever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men” (Lam 3:21-40).

The heatwave currently burning up Europe should make us stop and ask about the purposes of God, who desires the salvation of all people - not their destruction.

Need for Revelation

The heatwave that is currently burning up Europe is undoubtedly a sign that should make us all stop and ask about the purposes of God, who desires the salvation of all people - not their destruction. Is God warning us of far greater tragedies that could befall us if we continue to defy his word, despise the truth and reject Europe’s great Judeo-Christian heritage of the past 1,000 years?

Surely even the suffering of this present time would be worthwhile if we heed the warning signs that are being sent to us and turn to the Lord.

Oh Lord, open our minds to understand your ways and your word. Give us clear revelation!

Notes

1 E.g. at the official opening of the Gotthard Tunnel between Switzerland and Italy.