There is documented evidence that the world’s natural disasters have been increasing at alarming rates, so could this have anything to do with living in the end times and Jesus soon appearing?
The Olivet Prophecy
When Jesus’ disciples came to Him and ask Him about the end times leading up to Jesus’ return and when that will occur, Jesus was very clear and to the point, saying, “there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains” (Matt 24:7-8), so it could be that natural disasters are warning signs of the end times and God’s coming judgment. I know this with 100% assurance that I have no assurance when that Day will come. Jesus said, “concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (Matt 24:36), and He’s not let me in on that secret, nor will He! We are just told to be ready ourselves and the way the world’s looking should give us a sense of urgency about sharing Christ before He comes again to judge the world in righteousness.
We ought to be sharing the gospel like our hairs on fire! We ought yield to God and let Him use us as a means to save some; to rescue the perishing who will face the fires of hell unless we try to intervene. The late Prince of Preachers said it so well: “If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.”
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More or Less Disasters?
Part of the reason for the increase of natural disasters in the fact that there’s better reporting today than ever before. With billions of cell phones and cameras around today, nothing much gets missed, so it may seem like there are more natural disasters but in part it’s because more people have access to video and can post these extreme events on the Internet more frequently. And from some of the remotest parts on earth! Even so, there has been an increase in natural catastrophes in recent decades.
Just a quick look at the evening news on TV shows you that the world doesn’t have much peace today and that the only news is bad news. Every news story today is about something seriously wrong in the world. We seem to dwell on the negative news, and natural disasters are often used by the news media, but we all know they can exaggerate and some even lie in their reports…all of it to make it sound worse than it actually is. That brings higher ratings. They care less about what is true and more about what gets good ratings. Truth is negotiable and subject to being stretched, particularly if there’s financial gain to be had. You surely can’t believe everything you hear and read, unless it’s the Word of God.
Natural Disasters
A natural disaster is, well, anything that’s not natural, but really these catastrophes are nothing new to earth’s and humanity’s history. There was the global cooling event in the 17th century called Europe’s Little Ice Age, but what caused it? For around a 70 year period (from 1645 until 1714), early astronomers reported almost zero sunspot activity. The number of sunspots, which are cooler areas on the sun that appear dark against the brighter surroundings, dropped roughly a thousand fold. And then there’s the Little Ice Age which began around 1300 A.D. and ended up lasting for several hundred years. The result was ruined crops, widespread poverty, and death. The world endured much colder than normal winters and much cooler summers that normal for centuries, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, but this could have been caused in part, by particulates spewed into the atmosphere by volcanoes, combined with fluctuations in the sun’s output. The point is we have always experienced natural disasters in the history of mankind, but is it getting worse?
Ramping Up
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From 1980 to 2009 there was an 80 percent increase in the growth of climate-related disasters. [1] In the first two decades of the 2000’s, natural disasters have increased 400%.[2] According to the World Meteorological Organization, humanity experienced nearly five times as many natural disasters (3,496) in the first decade of this century as we did during the 1980s (743). [3] However some of that data may be skewed because we’ve had more widespread media coverage worldwide, and who doesn’t seem to have a cell phone these days and capture the next natural disaster? I do not believe that all these increasing catastrophes are a coincidence. Something seems to be going on with the earth, but is there a spiritual cause at the root of all this? There may be. Read on.
Vomited Out of the Land
There are actually Old Testament Scriptures that talk about the land vomiting it’s inhabitants out of the land, due to the heinous and grievous sins that the people were doing. That was primarily idolatry, but when it came to a nation sacrificing their own children in the fire to a pagan God (actually satanic demon), God said, “It is enough!” The land of Canaan was defiled by the children of Canaan and so it was said that the land vomited them out (Lev 18:21). Vomiting a people out could be by means of a nation invading them (Israel did Canaan), people moving out as asylum seeks, refugees, slaves, prisoners (Israel would later be taken captive by Babylon), etc.
God Judges the Nations
The Bible shows many examples of where a nation was “vomited out,” either by another nation or power or through natural disasters (Sodom and Gomorrah), but however God chooses to do this, there is a point in time when the land will vomit out its inhabitants (Lev 18:24-25). How it happens is when “the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants” (Lev 18:25), so God can vomit (expel) out any nation that turns its back on God, and reaches a such a sinful state that it’s stench reaches up to heaven. This same thing happened in Noah’s day (Gen 6) when God said it is enough. He has done this before and He can do it again, so the question is, “What is the tipping point when God moves in judgment against a nation, particularly a nation that’s murdered multiple millions of babies through abortion like America has?” And what of the other nations around the world living contrary to God’s Word? If God did not spare His own Son, what makes us think He’ll spare any nation that kills its young, even in the womb (Rom 8:32)?
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Conclusion
With all of the world’s problems and natural disasters, there’s not much certainty about the future for unbelievers, and if you have not yet trusted in Christ, I hate to tell you this but you have absolutely no access to God nor can you seek help from Jesus Christ when disaster strikes. Until God brings you to repentance and you put your trust in Christ, you are all alone in passing through this life, but it is never too late to turn to God. Make today your day of salvation instead of having your heart hardened by rejecting Christ over and over (2 Cor 6:2). That’s a dangerous place to be dear reader. Until you have put your trust in Christ, you will have to bear every anxiety and every burden yourself, so please, I plead with you, why not trust in the Savior today and let Him carry what you cannot carry yourself? He is there right now…waiting for you. He holds the future secure in His hand. That’s something we can take comfort in. Even if the world looks like it’s out of control, we know God is not (Rom 8:28).
Here is some related reading for you: How Pandemics, Depressions and Disasters Are Used by God [4]
Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English standard version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
1. Are There More Natural Disasters Now Than Ever Before? The Straight Dope. (June 5, 2015) Accessed, Oct 26, 2021. https://borgenproject.org/natural-disasters-increasing/
2. Number of Recorded Natural Disaster Events: 1900-2019. Accessed, October 26, 2021. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-of-natural-disaster-events
3. Are Natural Disasters Increasing? The Borgen Project. (June 19th, 2019) Accessed, October 26, 2021. https://www.straightdope.com/21344320/are-there-more-natural-disasters-now-than-ever-before