The waters saw You, O God; The waters saw You,
they were afraid; The depths also trembled. The clouds poured out water; The
skies sent out a sound; Your arrows also flashed about. The voice of Your
thunder [was] in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth
trembled and shook. Your way [was] in the sea, Your path in the great waters,
And Your footsteps were not known. You led Your people like a flock By the hand
of Moses and Aaron.
Psalm 77:16-20 NKJV
When I talk with people about the command to
watch, the question naturally arises as to just exactly what are the sorts of
things we should watch for? That is a
very good question, and one that I believe every one of us should ask ourselves
in light of what the Word tells us about signs of the end of the age and the
nearness of Christ’s return.
In this passage from the book of Psalms, the
author is troubled and in despair so he thinks back to the past and the times
that God manifested Himself in human history by actions man could only describe
as supernatural. The verses above refer to the time that God led the children
of Israel out of the land of Egypt and through the Red Sea on their journey to
the Promised Land. Now I think the important point to make here is that
although Moses and Aaron were used by God to shepherd His people, it was God
Himself who led them.
And the LORD went before them by day in a
pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to
give them light; to go by day and night: He took not away the pillar of the
cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, [from] before the people.
Exodus 13:21-22 NKJV
Now why do I think this is important? Look
closely at the passage from Psalms and notice what the author says the reaction
of the earth was to the presence of God. Do you see what I see? We are told the
waters were afraid, the depths trembled, there was a downpour of rain, thunder
along with lightning that lit up the entire world, and not to mention
earthquakes that shook the earth. Yet to me, the most important part of this
passage is the fact that it does not say God “caused” these things to happen,
rather it was a response of the earth to actually “seeing” the presence of God.
Right about now some
of you are probably thinking wait just a minute here; do you really believe the
earth can “see”? Well, why not? Not only do these verses say it does, we are
told elsewhere that the earth can talk too.
Then, as He was now drawing near the descent
of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice
and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen,
saying: " 'Blessed [is] the King who comes in the name of the LORD!' Peace
in heaven and glory in the highest!" And some of the Pharisees called to
Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples." But He answered
and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones
would immediately cry out."
Luke 19:37-40 NKJV
So if we are to believe what the Bible tells
us, the earth has and can react to the presence of God in physical ways, some
of which might surprise us. Is that really so hard to believe? After all, the
earth was created by God just as we were created, so who knows what physical
reaction could be produced by the approach of the power which created it? This
is the question that I would like you to think about in light of some of the
things happening in the world right now.
For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with
birth pangs together until now. Not only [that], but we also who have the
firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly
waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our
body.
Romans 8:22-23 NKJV
Why does the entire creation groan? No doubt because of the changes brought about by the fall in Genesis where even the shape of this world was altered by the introduction of sin. Notice that Paul is telling us here that both nature and man are waiting for the exact same event; the return of Christ! And the reason we groan? We as believers know what we will receive when Christ calls us home to be with Him forever. The anticipation of leaving this earth grows every day as we watch the events around us which give evidence that the world is, like in Noah's day, moving farther away from God rather than towards Him.
Why does the entire creation groan? No doubt because of the changes brought about by the fall in Genesis where even the shape of this world was altered by the introduction of sin. Notice that Paul is telling us here that both nature and man are waiting for the exact same event; the return of Christ! And the reason we groan? We as believers know what we will receive when Christ calls us home to be with Him forever. The anticipation of leaving this earth grows every day as we watch the events around us which give evidence that the world is, like in Noah's day, moving farther away from God rather than towards Him.
Most of us would agree the Bible clearly
teaches that there will be signs that precede the return of Christ, many of
which are physical in nature. Events such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions,
and tsunamis can explain many of the events described as occurring just before
Christ returns. Many of these things are beginning to happen right now in
various places in the world, and most of those who are watching and waiting for
His appearing believe the time is very close. Jesus Himself said this about the
signs that would appear just before His return.
For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the
heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by
which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the
heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved
for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 2 Peter 3:5-7
NKJV
I’m sure by now most are aware of the volcanic eruptions occurring
in Hawaii. Pictures are everywhere
showing the advancing lava flows as they consume houses, cars, and anything
else that gets in its way. What many
might not be aware of is the sharply increased number of earthquake swarms
around the world, especially in California and along the west coast. So much so that articles warning of the
potential “big one” are appearing again in the news. Israel has experienced so much rain that
flash flooding has occurred along with regrettable loss of life. I also read a report that a well-known Rabbi
in Israel has suggested that the unseasonable rain is a sign of the Messiah’s
imminent return.
"So you also, when you see these things
happening, know that it is near--at the doors!
Mark 13:29 NKJV
So here is my question for today; does God
cause these things to happen, or just like the events in Exodus when God came
to earth to lead His people away, is the earth reacting to His approach once
again? Is it possible that the increase in frequency and intensity of physical
events is because the closeness of Jesus returning for His church is causing a
physical reaction by the earth? If we
consider what the Bible has to say as being the true and faithful Word of God,
I would suggest that we should, as well as understanding that by what we are
told, this is only the beginning.
"Then the earth shook and trembled; The
foundations of heaven quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry.
2 Samuel 22:8 NKJV
Is the earth speaking?
Keep watching.
