BEFORE his death, Jesus foretold events and situations that would give evidence that this world had entered “the conclusion of the system of things.” That period, he said, would be marked by such things as pestilences, food shortages, and large-scale warfare. He also mentioned “great earthquakes” that would occur “in one place after another.” (Matthew 24:3, 7; Luke 21:10, 11) Was Jesus referring to our day? Many say no. They assert that the number of earthquakes has not substantially increased in recent decades. In fact, the U.S. National Earthquake Information Center reports that earthquakes of 7.0 magnitude and greater remained “fairly constant” throughout the 20th century.* Note, though, that the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy does not require an increase in the number or power of earthquakes. All Jesus said was that there would be great earthquakes in one place after another. Furthermore, he stated that these events would mark the “beginning of pangs of distress.” (Matthew 24:8) Distress is measured, not by the number of earthquakes or how they rate on the Richter scale, but by the effect that they have upon people.
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 10:36:02 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015