Hi Frank,
I'm sorry if I haven't been clear. I hope that no one believes that I -- or any of the other brethren here on SermonIndex -- are "scoffing" at the idea of judgment or the fact that signs will precede the coming of Christ. Rather, I think that we are all fully aware that the Lord is coming soon, his return is imminent and, of course, we uphold an understanding of judgment beginning in the house of God.
I do think that there is a world of difference between the examples from the Word of God that you mentioned and a typical hurricane, tornado, earthquake, etc. All of those things that are mentioned in Scripture are explicit in their purpose and undoubtedly supernatural events.
1.) The earthquake mentioned in Acts 16 was no ordinary earthquake and certainly not an act of judgment by God. Rather, it opened prison doors, loosened shackles and allowed Paul and Silas to reach the jailer for Christ.
2.) The earthquake mentioned in 2 Samuel 22:8 is somewhat ambiguous as included in this psalm by David. However, it is literally speaking of the Lord's anger causing the earthquake and not the pressure released from faults or adjacent tectonic plates.
3.) The earthquake mentioned in Matthew 28:2 was explicitly related to Christ in the tomb and the stone rolling away.
4.) The events mentioned in Mark 13:5-8 are certainly indicative of events preceding "these things" (the destruction of the Temple buildings mentioned in verse 1-4), but they certainly HAVE taken place throughout history. However, there was no statement that these were acts of God's judgment but, rather, a list of things that would precede "these things" (verse 4-5). The key phrase in this passage is in verse 7: "DO NOT BE ALARMED. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come."
5.) Luke 21:11 is similar to Mark 13:5-8.
6.) The scoffers mentioned in 2 Peter 3:3-4 are scoffing "the promise of his coming" and not whether or not an earthquake in Los Angeles, tornado in Missouri or a hurricane in Florida is an act of God's judgment or wrath upon America or the Church.
7.) Acts 13:41 is referring to people scoffing at the idea that salvation and forgiveness of sins could come through the blood of Christ (and, again, not about acts of nature).
8.) Jude 1:18 refers to scoffers following their own lusts rather than after the truths of Christ Jesus.
None of these things were attributed to the "judgment of God" upon a nation, people, individuals or the Church.
Now, when it comes to recent events:
- This Atlantic hurricane season has been the first active one with major storms to hit the U.S. in 12 years. Due to weather patterns, meteorologists predicted an above-average season early this year.
- Eclipses mentioned in previous threads as seemingly divine signs are easily calculated events that happen so often that it is almost mundane (except when it happens in areas where we live).
- There are an average of about 14,000 earthquakes of magnitude 4.0 or greater every year. Major earthquakes (7.0 or higher) happen an average of once per month. Great earthquakes (8.0 or higher) happen an average of once per year. According to the USGS, geologists and physicists believe that the frequency of major or great earthquakes are cyclical but have actually decreased over the last few centuries (despite the aforementioned averages).
- Deaths from disasters and famines can be counted in sheer numbers or rates. The numbers can be somewhat of an "apples-to-oranges" comparison because the world is vastly more populated today than it was even a decade ago. When SermonIndex started, the population of the Earth was 6.2 Billion. Today, the population is estimated to be more than 7.5 Billion.
For a sense of scope: If the entire population of China -- the world's most populous nation -- were to suddenly and collectively die today, the world would be about the same population as it was when SermonIndex began. There are more people living in China today than there was throughout every continent and country in the entire world at the time of the American Civil War. There are more than three times as many people currently living in India right now than lived on the entire Earth when Columbus set sail to the New World.
Consequently, more people die from disease, famine, pestilence, disasters, etc. However, the rates of such things have declined drastically. The Black Death killed approximately 22.5% of the entire world's population between 1346-1353 A.D. That number is shocking and almost Biblical in nature (hearkening to the "third of the earth" deaths mentioned in Revelation).
Often, there is a sense of sensationalism with media outlets when it comes to things like temperature, weather or disasters. When you hear about "largest ever recorded," it is often a product of the relatively young "recording" systems used by scientists. The modern method of uniform temperature gathering only began in about 1979 -- and a less-uniform method was used back to about 1950. The accuracy of non-uniform methods means that such temperatures aren't used when determining "records." What was the temperature on September 8 in the year 82 A.D.? No one knows. How strong was the Atlantic hurricane season that year? No one knows.
When media outlets mention that the 20 largest measured earthquakes have happened since 1900, they usually don't point out that the "Richter scale" used to measure the strength of earthquakes wasn't developed until the 1930's and the one prior to that, the "Mercalli scale," was less reliable and sparingly implemented after 1884. Prior to that, we only descriptions in writing or some geological record -- both of which lack precision for comparisons' sake.
Now, I definitely think that we can clearly assert that most of us certainly believe that God can and does use such things (e.g., disasters, famines, diseases, weather phenomenon, tragedies, etc.) to draw people back to him or wake them up from a spiritual slumber. Difficulties have a habit of making people look to the Lord. While the "birth pangs" mentioned by our Lord as preceding his return may very well be products of nature that happen often, I do believe that this is a stark contrast to a divine act of God's judgment.
In Revelation, the judgment of God will happen in a way that will be inexplicable to scientists. How will they explain the judgments associated with the seals and trumpets?
This world is plunging into the darkness of immorality and sin faster than many people thought could happen just a decade ago. The things that you mentioned are vile and the hubris of this world is getting to the point where audio/visual/print media outlets, big internet corporations and left-wing politicians are calling anyone who disagrees with their assessments "evil" and censuring their ability to speak out publicly against sin. I do think that this is a sign of the times and the approaching coming of our Lord. We are truly being despised by this world -- increasingly so -- because we believe the Word of the Lord.
Yet, at the same time, I also think that it can be dangerous to assign a status of a hurricane as a "sign" or attribute it as an act of "God's judgment" when it might simply be nothing more than a powerful weather event. I fear that saying such things assign blame to God -- almost like those mentioned in the Bible who (in error) insinuated that the collapse of the Tower of Siloam was an act of God's judgment. After all, the sun rises on the evil and the good and it rains on the just and the unjust. The Texas and Florida coasts are hit with a hurricane while places like Hollywood and San Francisco bask in the sun.
By the end of November, the hurricane season will end. The "Harvey is God's judgment" cries will fade as quickly as the "Katrina is God's judgment" cries faded. I believe that when God really does pour out his judgment upon the Earth, there will be a consensus among the true Body of Christ. Unfortunately, I have seen a trend in which certain believers who feel that they are "watchmen" speak as though their proclamations and beliefs are so certain that anyone who disagrees with their particular assessments are either mistaken, scoffing or worse.
I have been praying for those who were affected by the hurricane that hit Texas. I am praying for those who face a hurricane in Florida (and wherever else Hurricane Irma goes before it loses strength).
*EDIT - As I read what I posted, I want to make clear that I agree with much of what you've written here, Frank. I especially agree with the last part of your post. This world is truly racing toward the end.
