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Begining of the end
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Posted by: angelofthelord
The day after last Christmas, the largest
earthquake
in 40 years at 9.0 on the Richter scale, shook the Indian Ocean seabed off
Indonesia's Sumatra Island sending huge waves thousands of miles causing
death and destruction in countries around southern and southeast Asia and
even in Africa. The magnitude of this natural disaster is still unfolding,
but already over 225,000 are known dead . May we take a few moments today
to pray for those people who had their lives forever altered by this natural
disaster, and pray for God to be with them in a special way as they look to
Him for their strength and hope in rebuilding their lives.
Every time we have a major natural disaster with so many lives lost, the
question many begin to ask is if this is the start of the end of the world.
Let me tell you that what happened in southeast Asia was NOT the start of
the end of the world, it was simply fallen nature at work. However, what
happened should be a clear sign to everyone that what we read about in
Revelation as God pours out His wrath in those final days will indeed
happen. Many have scoffed at the widespread massive destruction to the
planet as described in Revelation. Events like the numerous hurricanes that
ravaged Florida a few months ago, the wildfires out west that destroyed
thousands of square miles of land last year, the earthquake Sunday, are all
small scale examples of what will one day happen on this planet. God will
pour out His wrath, over 1/3 of the planet, not just a few thousand miles.
It won't be 225.000 people dead, but tens of millions.
Let me tell you about he fall of nature. One of the questions I get very
often is why God allows tornadoes, hurricanes, lightning, typhoons, floods,
earthquakes, and other acts of nature that destroy billions of dollars of
resources each year globally, and take thousands of lives. An understanding
of this requires an understanding of the consequences of man's original sin
in the Garden of Eden. As I have shared on many occasions, man was created
to live and never die. He was placed in a perfect environment, free of
germs,
disease, and the acts of nature that we have in our world today.
At the time God created this environment we lived in, there were NO
tornadoes, hurricanes, lightning, typhoons, floods, earthquakes, or other
acts of destruction by nature. These acts of nature are often referred to
now as acts of God. That is a very misleading statement. God does allow
these acts of nature to occur but these were NOT His intended actions for
the environment He created man to live in. A consequence of the fall of
man due to sin, was a fall of his environment.
The good news however, is found in Isaiah 35 where it speaks of the
restoration of nature to its pristine condition and beauty. Adam and Eve
were thrown out of the Garden of Eden and forced to make their way in this
now fallen creation. They were created to live in a beautiful and perfect
environment. Now they and their ancestors would have to get along in an
imperfect and hostile one. However, there will come a day very soon, when
Christ shall return, in a twinkling of an eye, and wipe out all sin from
this world. Nature will once again be restored to its perfect beauty and
free of the destructive acts we face today.
As you know, one of my goals each day is to take our unseen faith and
translate it into the very real world we live in today. I do my best
daily to make our faith come alive, real, and practical in the day to day
lives we lead. Understanding that nature has fallen just like man, and that
due to its fallen state is capable of great destruction, we must use every
tool God has given us to protect ourselves. God has given man great wisdom
over the years in the ability to predict and follow the patterns of weather
that can lead to destruction and loss of life. While we cannot stop these
acts of nature, we can be prepared for them.
While we cannot change the fact
our environment has been cursed by sin, we can use God-given tools to help
us be aware of its potential dangers. God has much work for each of us to
do in these last days, and helping us be aware of, and not fall into the
traps of sin this world is infested with, is part of what He has called me
to do. While nature has fallen from its created perfection just as man has,
one day both will be restored to its original beauty and glory!