Global Shaking

Global Shaking

Since the start of this new era beginning in 2010 we have seen numerous catastrophes hit the earth, all within a seemingly short period of time. There have been several major earthquakes in diverse places causing great destruction and loss of life. But in addition to these, there have also been some major storms, tornadoes, flooding, volcanic activity – including a massive ash cloud from Iceland that has blanketed the skies over Africa and Europe, thus making air travel difficult or impossible in this context — and other man-made disasters such as the recent oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico that has been responsible for dumping an estimated 5000 barrels (200,000 gallons) of oil into the ocean per day, thus causing destruction to marine life, their environment, and the entire ecosystem as a whole.

Each of these calamities have had an adverse effect upon the economy, both locally and globally, which is evidence that there is still a financial shaking that is taking place around the world. And with the “stock market meltdown” here in the US two weeks ago, attributed to an apparent glitch in the system of their ultrafast, automated computer trading algorithms in Wall Street, there has been renewed fear and concern regarding the state of the market.

Economic ramifications aside, it is quite evident that we have entered into a time of great distress and global shaking that is going to continue to intensify until the end. Less than a decade ago leading up to this present era there have been great earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes and other “natural” disasters that have left a massive trail of devastation and destruction in their path. This trend shall continue to increase in the earth.

And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines (shortages) and pestilences (plagues or diseases); and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven… For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people… 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 the heavens will be shaken (Luke 21:11, 22-23, 25-26 Parentheses mine).

Jesus has already warned us of what is to come, alerting us to the many signs that will take place before His return. We know that we are entering into a time of great distress where the earth – including the land, sea, air – and even the heavenly elements themselves begin to have violent convulsions resulting in the calamities and distresses described above. Men’s hearts will literally fail them for fear because of these occurrences, yet we are commanded to “watch” – not for the many visible signs being displayed openly in the heavens and the earth, but for His return – making sure that our hearts are properly aligned and connected to His so that we are not overtaken like those whose hearts are misaligned and distracted by the “cares of this life” (Luke 21:34-36).

Entire nations will be distressed and perplexed by these grave occurrences, which is indicative of the fact that these “shakings” are on a global scale and not limited to one particular region. It also pre-suggests that there will be no known solution for these global issues, meaning that entire governments will be at their wits end trying to salvage emergency aid and assistance from global relief agencies like the Red Cross and others, who by that time would have been severely overextended and their resources depleted or diminished because of the frequency and severity of these calamities.

Why we need to prepare

Implicit in Jesus’ command to His disciples to “watch and “pray” when making reference to His second coming and the signs of the end is the principle of preparation (Luke 21:36). To be watchful and alert suggests a state of preparedness, without which our watching is in vain.

We have entered into an acceleration of the end, and the global shaking and calamities that we have been experiencing are going to continue to increase and intensify like the labor pains of an expectant mother until the earth is violently shaken and removed out of its place.

He removes the mountains, and they do not know when He overturns them in His anger; He shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble (Job 9:5-6).

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 (Is. 13:13).

Fear and the pit and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth. And it shall be that he who flees from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit, and he who comes up from the midst of the pit shall be caught in the snare; for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth are shaken. The earth is violently broken, the earth is split open, the earth is shaken exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall totter like a hut; its transgression shall be heavy upon it, and it will fall, and not rise again (Is. 24:17-20).

These scriptures provide a very sobering warning of the judgment that awaits the earth during the time of the end. And it is a judgment that shall overtake the inhabitants of the earth because of a lack of preparedness both spiritually and otherwise. We need not be overtaken and caught off-guard like the world does because we have been warned from Scripture of what is to come. We don’t need another prophet to publish another article or proclaim another message telling us that there is a massive shaking that is coming upon the earth. We don’t need another prophecy to alert us that there are terrible earthquakes and other calamities on the horizon. We don’t need the ancient Mayan’s astrological mathematical predictions to alert us to the fact that there are serious cataclysmic events awaiting the earth in the near future (whether or not the 12/21/2012 date is inaccurate or not). We have a more sure word of prophecy, and nothing is going to stop God’s Word from coming to pass (2 Pet. 1:19).

Our responsibility as watchmen is to set a watch and to make preparation for what is to come. It does not matter what your eschatology is regarding end-time events – whether “pre-trib”, “mid-trib” or “post-trib” in anticipation of what is generally referred to as the “rapture”. The fact is that the earth is already groaning and convulsing, and these convulsions will continue to intensify and become more frequent as time progresses. Therefore, the time to prepare is now. And even though there is nothing we can possibly do to stop these calamitous events and violent shakings from taking place, there is much we can do to help lessen the effects upon our communities and our nations. We already know that our nations’ leaders and the global community as a whole will have no answers for these issues because they are caught off-guard and unprepared; therefore, it us up to us to be a light in a dark place and an answer to those who are perplexed.

Like Joseph in the land of Egypt, we must develop wise strategies to help protect ourselves, as well as those within the wider context of our cities and nations, through the foreknowledge and insight we have received regarding what is to come. To do otherwise is to be careless and irresponsible. Prophecy was meant to prepare us, not scare us; meaning we have been given an advantage whereby we can help “cushion” ourselves for the inevitable blow, rather than just cower hopelessly or helplessly in anxiety and fear regarding what is to come.

Disaster preparedness

We must begin to take the lead by teaching and educating our Kingdom communities (and if possible, extend it beyond our immediate borders to the city, state and regional levels) to adopt a mentality of disaster preparedness. This means that instead of being purely reactionary when a disaster takes place and desperately scrambling for help, solutions and resources on the aftermath of a major calamity, we take a more proactive and preparatory approach that would make help and recovery more organized, effective and efficient. Instead of people making foolish decisions or being cerebrally crippled due to panic, survivors and those within the immediate context of the calamity would know who to call, what to do, or where to go because they were properly educated and trained.

This type of mentality would begin to affect how and where we as leaders choose to build our meeting facilities. It should promote dialogue among the core leadership teams on how to develop the proper infrastructure or systems necessary for recovery and relief beyond our immediate Kingdom community. Do we have a place where we can provide emergency shelter for even a small number of people if the need arises? What about food, water, clothing and medical supplies if there was a sudden shortage or the inability of relief agencies to get such supplies to you in time? Is it possible to get some of your people trained in CPR and other basic emergency skills? What safety/security measures do you have in place should looting and violence erupt due to shortages of food, water and other supplies? Be aware that during times of panic things can become very chaotic quickly, and normal god-fearing and law-abiding people can turn violent and destructive in their desperate attempts to survive or provide for their loved ones. The strong will try to prey on the weak, thus placing them (the weak) in a vulnerable position. This is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. If the leaders are not prepared, it is more than likely that the people will not be either.

Families need to take the necessary steps to ensure the protection and well-being of their loved ones. What do we do and where do we go if a disaster takes place when we are away from home and all the lines of communication are down (no cell phone signal, internet, etc)? If family members are in different places at the time with no way to communicate with each other, it should be known by all what to do in such a situation or where to meet if their home is not accessible. Panic and confusion can make a disaster more than 10 times worse than it need be because of a lack of training or preparation.

We have learnt to depend on our nation’s government and other associated agencies for many years, but we are soon going to realize in the days ahead that many of these agencies that we have learnt to trust and depend on are going to fail us, not necessarily because of a lack of interest or effort on their part, but because of a lack of preparation and resources due to the frequency and intensity of these calamitous events. We must take the responsibility of educating and preparing ourselves without placing too much confidence in our respective governments.

In closing, I would like to repost portions of a bulletin that was issued by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) soon after the tragic earthquake that hit Haiti in January of this year since it communicates very valid measures that we should all be made aware of. They issued the following resolution and recommendations:

Whereas major natural disasters heighten awareness of the existence of geological hazards worldwide The International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) recognizes:

That earthquakes, on-land landslides, floods, and volcanic eruptions constitute significant potential for natural disasters;
That a substantial portion, if not most, of the global human population resides in areas characterized by significant risk of the occurrence of natural disasters;
That the tendency of the International Community to concentrate on reaction to natural hazards, rather than on preparation and their mitigation, operates to increase their cost to amounts much greater than that of preparation and mitigation;
That the lack of education in and awareness of Geological Sciences worldwide tends to decrease awareness of the possibility of natural disasters and preparation for them and thus exacerbate their human and economic toll when they inevitably occur;
That in the aftermath of a natural disaster, widespread knowledge of the geological sciences and of existing technology could assist rescue agencies and civil defense managers to obtain faster understanding of the extent of the damage from the event and how to cope with it;
That the reduction of the predictive uncertainty of a natural disaster is the most important issue in natural hazards reduction, but that reduction requires a thorough understanding of the nature of the geological processes giving rise to the disaster.
That the reduction of damages by a natural disaster requires a series of actions previous to its occurrence, where the understanding of the geological scenario is essential to a sound and safe planning of human settlements.

THE IUGS RECOMMENDS:

That systems and procedures be established for early warning, developing public awareness including Geological Science education, regional evacuation routes, and shelters with locations based on appropriate geological information, including maps of existing geological hazards;
That comprehensive education in the Geological Sciences, including knowledge of local geological hazards and their risk, become an integral part of education systems at all levels and in all countries;
That regional disaster management systems be organized where they do not now exist, and that existing disaster management systems be made more effective, and that these systems take steps effectively to monitor known indicators of all natural disasters;
That multidisciplinary and multinational research programs and research networks on Geological hazards and risks be developed to improve the professional and public awareness of and understanding of the phenomena associated with such hazards, and that efforts be increased to develop forecasting capability of such hazards;
That international agencies and developed countries should provide economic and technical help to support the above mentioned programs and systems within developing countries with regions characterized by significant risk of the occurrence of natural disasters, in the understanding that any help provided before a disaster occurrence surely will save more lives that if the same help is provided afterwards.