Jesus and the disciples had been walking through Jerusalem, looking at the temple buildings. The disciples were impressed by the buildings, but Jesus told them that one day not one of those stones would be left on another. He was trying to prepare them for the times to come.
Back outside of town on the Mount of Olives, he answered their questions about the future. “There will be famines and earthquakes in various places… then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now – and never to be equaled again… As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man… they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.” (Matthew 24)
The apostle John wrote, “Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. The great city split into three parts and the cities of the nations collapsed.” (Rev. 16)
I think what we have been seeing in the weather in the United States and Asia these past few weeks – tornadoes, fires, floods, cyclones, earthquakes, are just a taste of what is ahead for the world.
Is global warming to blame? Is there global warming, in fact, that is caused by anything human beings have done and are doing? I don’t know, and I don’t think anyone knows for sure. But if we believe the scriptures, We can’t stop these prophesied disasters no matter how many curly lightbulbs we buy.
What we can do is comfort and care for the injured, the sick and hungry, share with them, provide water and clothing and housing as much as possible. The most important things we can do are pray and share the gospel right along with physical help.
There is coming a time when the daylight will be gone, when none of us will be able to work. We need to be working while it is still day! (See John 9:4.)
Esther's Petition 