n His Olivet
Discourse, Jesus says, “There will be
great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful
events and great signs from heaven” (Luke 21:11). We also see that after talking of such
things, Jesus explains, “All these are
the beginning of birth pains” (Matthew 24:8).
I believe one of the more difficult events we are told to
watch for are natural disasters, for the mere mention of them being related to
Bible prophecy is met with responses such as, “Haven’t they always
happened? Earthquakes are nothing
new!” Obviously that is true.
Thus, we have to be careful that we do not overzealously point to every
natural disaster as a sign of the end of the world or otherwise “cry wolf.” Atheists are quick to point out when
Christians elevate emotion over science in such a way that it makes no sense.
This then gives them room to suggest that our stance on evolution (or virtually
anything else) is equally flawed. They
love to promote the idea that it was religious leaders who did not believe the
earth was anything but flat and persecuted anyone who thought otherwise. With that said, I believe we can still make
some logical connections about these words concerning the prediction of natural
disasters.
All These Are the Beginning
of Birth Pains
As I write this, my wife and I just shared in the birth of
our sixth child; and something I have learned is that when the time gets close,
you begin to measure the contractions (the stomach muscles tightening up). In particular, you take note of the time span
between them because when they occur very close together, you know you are
close to the time of actual delivery. So
it is quite interesting that Jesus chose the analogy of birth pains to describe
end-times events. This suggests that He
was describing a pattern where events occur in intervals in such a way that
they noticeably increase in frequency as the end times approach.
If that is the case, the logical thing for one to do is
search for natural disaster statistics on the Internet to discover whether natural
disasters are occurring more frequently and/or with more intensity than ever
before. Actually, you will find data
that suggest natural disasters are occurring more frequently; but this must
also be tempered with the reasoning that such data are also likely being
reported more often than has historically been the case.1
Cautiously Looking at the Data
Also, it’s important that we realize earthquakes, which are
mentioned specifically as one of the disasters, have not seemed to increase
significantly over the years. That is,
all the data I found suggest that earthquakes are occurring at a pretty steady
rate and are not, at the time of this writing, trending upward. With that said, the other thing I know about
labor pains is that (much to the relief of women and their husbands alike) they
do not occur at any significant level until immediately before delivery. Returning to the analogy Jesus used, it would
therefore make sense that we would not necessarily notice a substantial
increase in natural disasters until the tribulation has started.
Still, it is important that we pay attention to natural disasters
because we are told to watch for them as signs of the end times. Also, it could be that Jesus meant “all
signs,” not just natural disasters, are going to increase in a “birth pain”
type of frequency, with many of the prophecies being fulfilled in rapid
succession in a matter of a few years.
In fact, after He mentions there will be false Christs, wars, rumors of
wars, famines, and also earthquakes, He says, “All these things are the beginning of birth pains.” Arguably, many of those things are happening
now and seem to be culminating.
Great Signs from Heaven
Another interesting part of that text is where Jesus mentions there
will be “fearful events and great signs from heaven.” That is a rather broad description but
certainly not something we should ignore, especially since cosmic signs
happening in the end times is mentioned several times in Scripture. For example, in addition to Luke 21:11, referenced at the beginning of this
chapter, is Luke 21:25-26, where Jesus is recorded as saying, “There will be
signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and
perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of
what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.” Also, Revelation 6:12-14 says, “I watched as
he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black
like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the
stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken
by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every
mountain and island was removed from its place.”
Certainly a lot of very bad, nature-related events are going to happen
in the end days. But in addition to
earthquakes, tsunamis, famines, and pestilence, there will be notable cosmic
signs. It is, therefore, interesting
that many respected scientists are predicting unusual activities with the earth
and sun within the next few years.
Specifically, scientists who study the earth’s magnetic core (known as
paleomagnetists) are observing that the magnetic core is shifting, and that the
earth's magnetic field, which helps block harmful radiation from the sun, may
reverse. (Most scientists are ruling out
a complete reversal. If it happened,
compasses would point south rather than north, and we can only imagine the
broad repercussions for anything that relied on navigational equipment such as
planes and ships, in particular).2
We can appreciate that this phenomenon is apparently nothing new to
earth’s behavior, but knowledge of it and exactly how it all works is obviously
new. It demonstrates how mankind still
knows little about God’s creation in the big scheme of things. Certainly if the Bible predicts cosmic
events, we know they will happen even if, at this point, we have no scientific
explanation of how they will happen.
Indeed, they could happen in a way our “scientific minds” are completely
unaware of at this point.
Magnetic Storms
Still, it is quite interesting that we can even now look to science and
easily imagine how some cosmic events may happen. Scientists at the National Academy of
Sciences say the sun’s magnetic core will definitely flip in 2012, as it
routinely does that every eleven years.
That alone will cause powerful magnetic storms that will likely disrupt
communication, perhaps disable satellites, and possibly cause entire power
grids to fail. Moreover, if the earth’s
magnetic field, which helps block out solar radiation, degrades at the same
time, the harmful results could be compounded.3
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space
Environment Center,
“Sunspots are dark, cooler regions of the solar surface, areas of pent-up
magnetic activity. They're a bit like
caps on a shaken soda bottle, and upwelling matter and energy can blow at any
moment. Scientists cannot predict when a
flare will occur.” 4
There is precedence for this happening in history, except that in the
past we have never been as reliant on electricity and communications as we are
now. A solar storm in May of 1921 took
scientists by surprise, and one that occurred in 1989 took just ninety-two
seconds to blacken out the entire power grid in Quebec. Some experts note that solar storms similar
to those experienced in the past could cause vast regions of the country to be
without power for weeks or even months.
Imagine what would happen to perishable food supplies, our ability to
provide medical services, economic productivity, our ability to communicate
electronically, law enforcement, etc.5
A particularly bad solar
flare literally could propel the world into the dark ages and make people
rethink how they might defend themselves and their family during times of great
economic and moral stress in society.
Also, it would seem, a darkened earth would be an appropriate condition
when Jesus comes in great glory at the Second Coming, as vividly described in
Revelation 19:12-16:
His eyes are
like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on
him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe
dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of
heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen,
white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which
to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads
the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his
robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
king of
kings and lord of lords.
Summary
We know many major events related to nature and space
will happen—because the Bible says they will. However, we
should be cautious not to point to every storm, earthquake, or
even cosmic spectacle as a sure sign of the end times, and yet
we also should not live in ignorance. Once those signs begin to
dramatically increase in frequency and intensity, that will be an
indication that something, in a prophetic sense, is going on in
the world. It’s possible, however, that many of those things
will not happen until the tribulation (and perhaps not even until
the great tribulation, or even until the very end right before the
Second Coming occurs). Should we begin to see such events,
we can hope and pray to be raptured into heaven. It’s biblical
to do so too, as we are told in Luke 21:36, “Be always on the
watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about
to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of
Man.”
