Record-breaking disasters in recent years

A chapter from the book TIME IS FAST RUNNING OUT BY JOHN SCLIM

A new study found that people become more interested in God when a natural disaster strikes. The study was conducted just days after a powerful EF5 tornado ravaged Moore, Oklahoma, on 20 May 2013. It has to take a natural disaster to wake them up and make them sit up and think of God. They dare not deny His existence. All agnostics (who claim that people cannot know whether God exists or not), atheists (who believe that God does not exist), freethinkers (who have their own opinions and beliefs), and others will acknowledge His existence. As shown in Chapter 2, this will

only happen in the Great Tribulation. The Great Tribulation is an event that has no parallel, that is, what occurs during the Great Tribulation is unparalleled. For example, the whole earth will be shaken in the Great Tribulation, and this event so far has never happened in the past. It is discussed under the heading Shaking of the Earth in this chapter. Natural disasters have increased in number, frequency and intensity in recent years. At the dawn of the New Year 2013, disasters struck Australia. The states of Tasmania and New South Wales faced one of the highest-risk fire days in its history as wild fires spread out of control destroying homes. Much of the country experienced a record-breaking heatwave, and temperatures in the Tasmanian state capital Hobart reached a record high of 41C. And a news report had this headline: Sydney sizzles on HOTTEST day on record! Mercury soars to 46.4C in Australia as heat triggers massive bushfires. Another danger was looming ahead: a cyclone was approaching Australia's north-west coast and intensified into a category four storm, the second-highest level with wind gusts reaching 250kph near the cyclone's centre. The Bureau of Meteorology confirmed that the three summer months ending 28 Feb 2013 the hottest season ever recorded. The report said: "The Australian summer over 2012 and 2013 has been defined by extreme weather events across much of the continent, including record-breaking heat, severe bushfires, extreme rainfall and damaging flooding." Australia was not the only country struck by disasters. Heavy

snow fell in England causing chaos on roads, rail and runways, grounding hundreds of flights and forcing thousands of passengers to sleep on the floor at London's Heathrow Airport overnight. Europe was also hit by blizzards, air traffic havoc, deaths. Temperatures drop to record low as arctic blast sweeps Canada, US, according to a news report. Floods inundated the mega-city Jakarta of Indonesia and caused many deaths. In the United States, a gigantic storm shattered homes and businesses around the Midwest and South with tornadoes and high winds. According to a news report, arctic air swept through Canada and parts of the United States and sent temperatures plunging to record lows on Wednesday, 23 January 2013, with a wind chill of minus 40C. Public broadcaster CBC said Canada was the coldest nation in the world at the start of the day with temperatures as low as -43.1C in the Northwest Territories. All these disasters happened in the month of January 2013. Why did these disasters suddenly occur quite close to each other? What do they signify? They are harbingers of unparalleled disasters in the Great Tribulation and serve as warning signs to the world that the Great Tribulation is approaching. On Friday, 15 February 2013, a rare event occurred. A sizable meteor streaked across the sky and exploded over Russia releasing shockwave with the power of an atomic bomb. Buildings were damaged and glass windows were shattered injuring more than a thousand people. The shockwave was so powerful that it travelled twice around the globe, scientists said.

On the same day, an asteroid DA14 approached so close to the Earth the closest ever recorded in history but missed the planet by 17,200 miles (27,700 kilometres). However, in that day, meteors and asteroids will strike the Earth, causing the Earth to shake. A news report stated that the asteroid Apophis, 1000 foot wide (304.8 m) could smash into Earth in 2036. It brushed past the Earth at a distance of 30,000km in January 2013. Scientists claim little chance of it hitting us, but scientists warn of 'tiny but real' likelihood it may in 2036. The date could be brought forward sooner than scientists think in the Great Tribulation once the heavens are shaken, sending Asteroid Apophis to strike the Earth and the impact is so great that the Earth shakes. There will not be only one asteroid but many others hitting the Earth during the Tribulation. Already scientists discovered a massive 200-kilometre impact zone in the Australian outback they believe was caused by an asteroid which smashed into Earth, according to a news report in February 2013. Earthquakes The powerful Wenchuan earthquake that struck on 12 May 2008 was Chinas worst quake in a decade, and it claimed more than 60,000 lives. Almost 30,000 people remained

missing and 300,000 others were injured. In the Great Tribulation, millions of people will be killed and millions more missing as they will have been swallowed up in the Great Earthquake and their bodies cannot be recovered. On 22 February 2011, New Zealand suffered its most devastating earthquake in 80 years. It destroyed more than 100,000 homes, and the New Zealand prime minister said he was awe-struck by the power of the earthquake and the damage it had caused. In the Great Tribulation, people will be not be awe-struck but terror-struck. On 11 March 2011, a great Tohoku earthquake of magnitude 9.0 in Japan was so big its effects were even felt at the edge of space, according to a BBC news report. The tremor sent sound waves through the atmosphere that were picked up by a satellite. In the Great Tribulation, the tremors of earthquakes can be heard around the world, striking terror into the hearts of the people. Over 110,000 people were killed in the Haitian earthquake in January 2010, making it the deadliest quake on record in the Americas. This Haitian quake was considered as the deadliest earthquake on record in the Americas, but the truly deadliest earthquake will occur in the Great Tribulation and will break all records with a death toll of millions, not hundreds of thousands, of people in countries affected by this earthquake. Note what the scripture say: Revelation 16.18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.

This earthquake is unparalleled: such as was not since men were upon the earth. Shaking of the Earth A powerful earthquake struck Chile in March 2010 and probably shifted the Earth's axis by 8 cm and made days slightly shorter, a Nasa scientist said. It means the Earth was shaken a bit but that shake pales into insignificance when compared with the shaking of the whole Earth in the Great Tribulation: Hebrews 12.26 But now He [God] hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. Hebrews 12.27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. The shaking of the Earth and the heavens is literal. The Greek word for shake in Hebrews 12, verse 26, is seio (Eng., "seismic," "seismograph," "seismology"), meaning "to shake, move to and fro," usually of violent concussion, is said of the earth as destined to be shaken by God. (Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words) God has promised to shake the Earth all that was of the old creation, all that was and is corrupt and rebellious, . . . but this will be introduced by judgments which will dissolve all that man leans upon. When the whole Earth is shaken, what will happen to all the infrastructures in every country? What will happen to all the buildings, no matter how quake-proof they are, how

shanty they are, how solidly built they are, how tall they are, and how beautiful their architecture is? Most of all, when the Earth shakes to and fro violently, what will happen to the water in the seas, lakes, reservoirs and other large bodies of water on land? It is just like swinging a basin of water violently, and all the water in the basin is sent flying into the air. Similarly, when the Earth is shaken, the seas, lakes, etc, will also shake sending tonnes of water flying out of them far and wide in every direction and hitting structures every where around them. The impact of the water is so great (like a super jumbo flying at high speed towards a tall building) that it collapses buildings, bridges, flyovers, etc, and causes floods. Many, many lives will be lost. The seas are shaken triggering super tsunamis. Haggai 2.6 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land. In March 2011, a powerful earthquake struck Japan so much so it shifted the balance of the planet. Japans earthquake shifted balance of the planet. The devastating earthquake and tsunami has actually moved the island closer to the United States and shifted the planet's axis, said a news report. The island has moved just very slightly but in the Great Tribulation, mountains and islands will be moved out of their places! The scriptures tell us so: Revelation 6.14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

Revelation 16.20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. The land shakes causing buildings to fall. Mountains skip, and islands disappear into the seas. The heavens shake causing the satellites and rocks to fall from outer space to the earth. The ocean floors shake triggering super tsunamis. People are terror-struck and die of heart attacks. Super tsunamis When the earthquake struck Japan in March 2011, the island not only shifted towards the United States, it triggered a giant tsunami that travelled as far as Thailand and India and causing widespread destruction and loss of lives. A news report mentioned: The devastation is absolute, revealing the utter force of the massive wall of water that struck Japan's north-east Pacific coast on Friday, following a 9.0magnitude earthquake one of the biggest ever recorded. Cars were thrown every where, crushed by the swirling waves and then stuck incongruously into the few remaining structures, or balanced on top of huge piles of wooden debris that were once houses. The tsunami was reported to be 10-metre tall generated by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck off the coast of Northeast Japan and causing massive devastation and thousands of deaths. This disaster pales in comparison to the disasters that occur in the Great Tribulation when tsunamis are much taller than 10 metres, perhaps 30 to 50 metres tall, triggered by earthquakes of magnitude much greater than 9.0, perhaps 18.0 and above. Nothing is impossible during the Great Tribulation. As stated at the beginning of the chapter, all events are unparalleled.

Luke 21.25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring. The waves roaring remind us of tsunamis that may strike many coastal cities, archipelagos, and islands like Samoa Islands, Baker Island, Canadas Pacific islands, Vancouver Island, Caroline Islands, Cook Islands, Fiji Islands, Hawaii and its islands, French Polynesia, Society Islands, Galapagos Islands, Solomon Islands, Japan and its islands, Philippines and its islands, Malaysia and its islands, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore (a report said the island is not immune from a tsunami), and many other islands, whether big or small, in the world. People living on the thousands of islands in the world are deceiving themselves if they think tsunamis will never come to their islands just because they have never seen a tsunami hitting their countries. When the whole Earth is shaken, all the body of water in the oceans and seas will be sent flying far and wide in every direction, racing like mad as the super tsunamis strike every coastal city and island. Oh, believe it. Most of the worlds populations are found in cities. Cities are fascinating places to live and pass ones time. They have buildings with beautiful architecture, modern skyscrapers zooming into the sky, infrastructures that power and sustain the cities to make life comfortable and convenient: malls, supermarkets, shops, cafes, bars, gaming centres, etc. Entertainment centres, amusement parks, and suchlike offer pleasures galore all will be destroyed in the earthquake. Those who live in the cities perish in the earthquake. If they

escape destruction the floods and storms will come and finish them off. Revelation 16.19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. Shaking of the heavens The heavens are beautiful to behold with a powerful telescope but one can still see with a naked eye stars twinkling in the dark blue canopy of the night sky. For too long a time, men have taken the order in the heavens for granted. They do not appreciate the beauty God had created for them to see.

Psalm 19.1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork. But in the Great Tribulation, there will be no beauty but chaos in the heavens.

Matthew 24.29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. Mark 13.25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. The shaking of the heavens causes celestial bodies, stars, magnestars, rocks, asteroids, meteoroids, and other extraterrestrial bodies to shake and go out of their courses. The magnestars that are usually some 20,000 light years away in our Milky Way galaxy are now sent nearer to the Earth. They have a magnetic field thousands of millions of times stronger than that of Earth and so powerful that it can even tear atoms apart. The Earths own magnetic field is overwhelmed by the magnestars that it could cause Earth to spin upside down, North Pole becomes South Pole and South Pole becomes North Pole. There will be catastrophic consequences that words cannot describe. On 27 August 1998, a wave of radiation from a magnestar hit the upper atmosphere of Earth, disrupting radio station transmissions and causing two spacecraft orbiting Earth to stop for a while. In the Tribulation, the consequences will be catastrophic.

Earth flipping upside down A news report in October 2012 quoted scientists as saying: Earth's magnetic field is weakening and could all but disappear in as little as 500 years as a precursor to flipping upside down. The Earths magnetic field could disappear in the Great Tribulation. According to one Earth scientist,

"Magnetic north has migrated more than 1,500 kilometres over the past century. In the Great Tribulation the magnetic north could migrate many thousands of kilometres. Migratory birds, bees, and ocean fish that use the magnetic field could be greatly disoriented and confused. It would throw the Earth into total disarray or turn it topsy-turvy. It could make the Earth spin out of control it is waiting to happen. Men will die of heart attacks! Luke 21.26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. Global warming Two research papers published in the journal Nature warned that global warming could exceed safe levels in this lifetime. The Earth is getting warmer and warmer. The sea levels are rising. There are more severe floods and droughts. But wait till the Great Tribulation comes when the Earth is scorched with fire: Revelation 16.8 And the fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun; and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. Revelation 16.9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the Name of God, Who has power over these plagues: and they repented not to give Him glory. Men are such that if they do not repent today they will never repent in the Great Tribulation. They just perish in the great fire. Global warming is a good indicator that the Earth is

heading for the baptism of fire. The Lord Jesus Christ is coming. The Great Tribulation is coming! The earth will not only experience baptism of fire, but also baptism of water in some places. According to the report released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in December 2007, of, as many as 150 million people in the world's big coastal cities are likely to be at risk from flooding by the 2070s, more than three times as many as now. That 150 million would increase manifold during the Great Tribulation. World on the verge of a climate catastrophe The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has warned that the world is on the verge of a climate catastrophe. He gave the warning in his commentary in the International Herald Tribune. He noted recent acceleration in the melting of glaciers and polar ice, and pointed out that the collapse of an at-risk Antarctic ice shelf could raise sea levels by up to six metres, inundating costal cities New York, Mumbai and Shanghai. As Earth is becoming warmer, climate zones may shift away from the equator and towards the poles. This could result in catastrophic floods and droughts, rising sea levels and heat-wave deaths and diseases. The climate change taking place in the world today is the harbinger of the catastrophes they are unparalleled that will strike the Earth in the Great Tribulation. It is coming! Already hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters hit a growing number of people worldwide and are on the increase due partly to global warming, said the United

Nations

International

Strategy

for

Disaster

Reduction

(UN/ISDR) in September 2004. A recent report pointed out that natural catastrophes in 2007 were more frequent and costlier than a year earlier. It said there were 950 natural catastrophes in 2007 compared with 850 in 2006, the highest number since 1974. It is a warning sign of greater impending catastrophes. Storms Superstorm Sandy struck north-eastern United States without mercy in October 2012. It caused billions of dollars of damage, US$42 billion in New York alone. It caused more damage than the notorious Hurricane Katrina. We have seen land storms, windstorms, ocean storms but rarely solar storms. On 23 January 2012, the biggest solar storm since 2005 pummelled the Earth and could have disrupted some satellite communications. The radiation storm was caused by a flare shooting out of the sun but did not cause any damage to the Earth. The flare sent off a very fast coronal mass ejection travelling 6.4 million kmh, according to a report. It caused flights to be rerouted. It is a warning sign to the world that there will be upheaval in the Earths atmosphere when it is hit by a super solar storm in the Tribulation. Planes shall crash. Floods Read the following news headlines: Floods paralyse Philippine capital Manila. BBC News, 7 August 2012. Floods in UK: More than 800 homes flooded as

storms hit. BBC News, 26 November 2012/ Australia floods: Thousands evacuate NSW town. BBC News, 6 March 2012. Beijing chaos after record floods in Chinese capital. BBC News, 23 July 2012. Devastating India floods leave 95 dead, millions Homeless." CNN, 4 July 2012. What do these headlines tell us? The weather is getting wetter. 2012 was the second wettest year on record in the UK and the wettest ever in England, said the UK Met Office. It also suggested that the UK may be getting increasingly wetter. A scientist at the Met Office said: "The trend towards more extreme rainfall events is one we are seeing around the world, in countries such as India and China, and now potentially here in the UK." In 2012, floods also hit the United States, Malaysia, and other countries. There will definitely be floods occurring in the Great Tribulation, but they will be more severe than those occurred in 2012 but not to the extent of the Flood that covered the whole earth in Noahs time. God spoke to Noah and his sons with him: Genesis 9.11 And I will establish My covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. Genesis 9.12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:

Genesis 9.13 I do set My bow [rainbow] in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between Me and the earth. Genesis 9.14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: Genesis 9.15 And I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. Genesis 9.16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. Catastrophes are more frequent A British report published in March 2011 stated that major disasters like the Japanese earthquake and tsunami or Pakistan's floods are likely to become more frequent, and global governments must prepare for an uncertain future. There is no uncertain future in Gods plan as the whole earth will be entering the Great Tribulation at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. These natural disasters today are harbingers of unparalleled disasters and weather conditions in the Great Tribulation. They will inflict maximum damage and the greatest loss of lives that the world has ever known. There are other phenomena waiting to occur. Revelation 6.12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

Isaiah 13.10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. The disasters that have occurred in recent years are nothing when compared with those in the Great Tribulation. They serve as warnings to the people of the world of impending doom. But people just take these disasters today in their stride and think such occurrences are usual and they should not worry about them. For those affected by disasters, it is no laughing matter but cause for concern. Many have been awakened to turn to God and the Lord Jesus Christ Who died on the cross to save them. In the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, people started to flock to churches; many came to Christ. In Noahs days, the people were warned of the impending flood but the people just ignored the warning and perished. And people today are like those people in Noahs days: they do not want to come to the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved, and as they read the pages of this book, may the Holy Spirit of God open their eyes to see their sins, and that they are in great danger of perishing. With all these catastrophes and topsy-turvy in weather conditions, living conditions, travel, business, work, ecommerce, etc will be severely affected. There will be no more carnivals, sambas, and festivities. People will be mourning and feel frightened. After writing this, a powerful tornado on 21 May 2013 struck and pulverised an Oklahoma City suburb of Moore with winds of up to 320kmh wiping out block after block of

homes and affecting 33,000 people. 1,200 homes were damaged or destroyed.

Photo: AFP

Central Europe was hit by floods after days of heavy rain.

The statue of world harmony leader Sri Chinmoy is partially submerged in water from the rising Vltava river in Prague, June 2, 2013. Photo: Reuters

These disasters pale in comparison to those that occur in the Great Tribulation.