As the dust settles in Nepal, Charles Gardner considers the prophetic significance of earthquakes...
Frightening scenes of the earth shaking in the Himalayan region, bringing death and destruction to Kathmandu while trapping climbers in an avalanche, are stark reminders of our insecurity on this planet.
And although this is a terrible tragedy for the people of Nepal, where thousands of helpless souls were caught in its grip, I believe this is a prophetic sign from heaven as the mountain range known as the 'rooftop of the world' threatens to bring the 'house' down – that is, everything we have held safe and dear during our temporary stay on terra firma.
Wake-Up Call for Israel
In fact, a recent Jerusalem Post editorial referred to the first Nepalese earthquake as a "wake-up call" to Israel, urging the government to ensure that the nation is better prepared for a similar disaster, pointing out that the Jewish state lies on a 'fault' line which runs down the Jordan Valley and that a quake could strike at any moment.1
Experts have been warning for a number of years that Israel is at risk of a big earthquake in the near future.
Reinforcements are still necessary for schools, hospitals and other public buildings more than 35 years old (ie built before stricter quake-resistance regulations were introduced). Apparently Israel experiences a serious quake every 80-100 years, and the last one occurred in 1927.2
The findings for such a scenario (prepared for Israel five years ago) – that a quake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale (less than Nepal's) would kill an estimated 16,000 people and render 377,000 homeless – are sobering indeed.3
Earthquake Prophesied at Jesus' Return
Yes, it's scary, and we should prepare for the worst. However, such an apocalyptic vision will inevitably become reality for Israel – it's in the Bible! The prophet Zechariah foretells of a time, at the end of the age, when all the nations would come against Jerusalem, causing terrible distress. But the Lord himself will go out and fight them in the day of battle.
On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. (Zech 14:4)
In a recent blog for the Times of Israel,4 I mentioned how Yeshua, the Jewish rabbi whom Christians (and a growing number of Jews) worship as Messiah, indicated that earthquakes would strike with increasing frequency and severity, as labor pains on a woman in childbirth, immediately preceding his return.
The Bible tells us that when Jesus returns in glory, he will stand on the Mount of Olives and it will split in two"
And the New Testament records that it was from the Mount of Olives that – 40 days after Passover – the risen Jesus ascended to Heaven. Luke, thought to be the only Gentile to have authored any book of the Bible, said Jesus was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.' (Acts 1:9-11)
Verse 12 tells you that this dramatic incident occurred on the Mount of Olives. So we believe that Yeshua, when he returns, will place his feet there and the ensuing quake will shake the foundations of every man and woman on the planet.
Solid Foundations
We must ensure that the foundations of our lives are solid, rooted in an absolute trust of Elohim5, and not just in our temporary homes on this earth, so that when everything else shakes around us, we at least emerge with our faith intact. And when all is said and done, that's what really matters. For all who have not built their 'house' on the only strong foundation there is will be left naked, ashamed and forlorn.
If the foundations of our lives are solid, rooted in absolute trust of God, then as everything else shakes we will emerge with our faith intact."
Famous British author and journalist Malcolm Muggeridge, in his book Jesus Rediscovered, wrote:
The only ultimate disaster that can befall us, I have come to realize, is to feel ourselves to be at home here on earth. As long as we are aliens, we cannot forget our true homeland.6
There are many people, including Christians, who are convinced things will get progressively better. Their worldview is based on a utopian aspiration that believes our efforts can bring heaven to earth. But as Jews for Jesus international director David Brickner says, this is not the worldview the Bible presents:
Anyone who thinks things will become progressively better in our world either hasn't heard or hasn't believed what Jesus said in the Olivet discourse (in which he discussed the end of the age). In a word, it is cataclysm, defined as 'a flood, a deluge, any violent change involving sudden and extensive alterations, an upheaval, a social or political one'.7
Brickner states: "Jesus says to expect a geopolitical, religious, economic, ecological, sociological and astronomical cataclysm".8 But as the world around us disintegrates, if we believe and trust in Yeshua, he promises to help us, strengthen us and guide us to a bright and beautiful eternal future where the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Hab 2:14).
References
1 Nepal wake-up call, 26 April 2015.
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid.
4 Earth-shaking events are signs from heaven, 29 April 2015.
5 This Hebrew name for God (Gen 1:1) traditionally signifies God as Creator and Judge of all.
6 Fontana, 1969, p30-31.
7 Dystopia: the truth behind the fiction, May 2014.
8 Ibid.
