Earthquake, Scripture, The End Times (And a Little Bit O' Pat Robertson)

[Faith1960]

Has anyone read this article yet?
huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/26/pat-robertson-washington-monument-crack-god_n_938075.html

Pat is at it again, making dire predictions. When Jesus said in Scripture that “no one but The Father knows the day or the hour” the end of the world will occur, He did mean that we can’t accurately make predictions, right?

So why do Pat Robertson and some other televangelists make these type of pronouncements at all? Do they know something we don’t or is it an error in Biblical interpretation in their case – or ours?

Isn’t there some part of Scripture that says something about a fool making predictions about the end?

 

[CountrySteve]

you know i dont belive in all this end of times stuff every one keeps saying but this quote made sense too me
“I don’t want to get weird on this, so please take it for what it’s worth, but it seems to me the Washington Monument is a symbol of America’s power. It has been the symbol of our great nation, we look at that monument and we say this is one nation under God. Now there’s a crack in it.”

 

[BVM_1221]

Has anyone read this article yet?
huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/26/pat-robertson-washington-monument-crack-god_n_938075.html

Pat is at it again, making dire predictions. When Jesus said in Scripture that “no one but The Father knows the day or the hour” the end of the world will occur, He did mean that we can’t accurately make predictions, right?

So why do Pat Robertson and some other televangelists make these type of pronouncements at all? Do they know something we don’t or is it an error in Biblical interpretation in their case – or ours?

Isn’t there some part of Scripture that says something about a fool making predictions about the end?

“Follow the money”

 

[Mintaka]

Re: the Washington Monument

The Liberty Bell has a crack in it. Have you ever thought that was a judgment from God or a warning? Of course not. It’s a sign that people celebrated a little too hard with that bell.

The Washington Monument has a crack in it. The Earth has a lot of cracks in it, and it’s an infinitely greater “building” from an infinitely greater Architect. We live in a fallen world. These things happen. Them’s the breaks from Adam and Eve.

We have been living in the end times ever since Jesus ascended to His Father. There have always been wars and rumors of wars, storms, earthquakes, and all the rest. We always need to repent and turn back to God. There’s no need to know the day or the hour, particularly since we’re a lot more likely to need our souls to be in order if we should get hit by a car tomorrow. Worry about the end of your personal world (ie, in death) more, and you will worry about the end of the whole world less.

 

[PURDUE_MOM]

Amen, Mintaka

 

[Nate13]

There are always going to be people saying they know when the end of the World will be. I’ve heard it put that if God took 4000 years preparing us for the New Covenant and the impending victory wouldn’t he at least want to spend that much time reveling in his victory? Those 4000 years could be attributed to being the childhood of humanity and we are only now barely in our teens if you think of it that way haha. I think those who conjecture the end of times is right around the corner are doing so out of a false sense of pride.

 

[Faith1960]

Re: the Washington Monument

The Liberty Bell has a crack in it. Have you ever thought that was a judgment from God or a warning? Of course not. It’s a sign that people celebrated a little too hard with that bell.

The Washington Monument has a crack in it. The Earth has a lot of cracks in it, and it’s an infinitely greater “building” from an infinitely greater Architect. We live in a fallen world. These things happen. Them’s the breaks from Adam and Eve.

We have been living in the end times ever since Jesus ascended to His Father. There have always been wars and rumors of wars, storms, earthquakes, and all the rest. We always need to repent and turn back to God. There’s no need to know the day or the hour, particularly since we’re a lot more likely to need our souls to be in order if we should get hit by a car tomorrow. Worry about the end of your personal world (ie, in death) more, and you will worry about the end of the whole world less.

So you don’t put any stock into the idea the end is near?

 

[BVM_1221]

So you don’t put any stock into the idea the end is near?

Speaking only for myself…NO!:coffeeread:

 

[CountrySteve]

idk if y’all want my two cents i say why worry about it lol i trust God and whenever the end happens its His will so i say why try to predict it cause you could be wrong

 

[beehumble]

Has anyone read this article yet?
huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/26/pat-robertson-washington-monument-crack-god_n_938075.html

Pat is at it again, making dire predictions. When Jesus said in Scripture that “no one but The Father knows the day or the hour” the end of the world will occur, He did mean that we can’t accurately make predictions, right?

So why do Pat Robertson and some other televangelists make these type of pronouncements at all? Do they know something we don’t or is it an error in Biblical interpretation in their case – or ours?

Robertson did not give a day and an hour. Please note, all who argue about this, that Jesus basically said no man knows the specific moment of His return - the day and hour (there is also an allusion to the Feast of Trumpets and two witnesses but that is not for here).

So Jesus said nobody would know the specific moment of HIs return. He ALSO said that there would be signs of His impending return and He spelled out some signs.

The “end times” is not a specific hour and day, not one specific singular moment in time. It is the span of time, the period of time that precedes Jesus’ return. Daniel referred to it as ‘the time of the end’. Revelation refers to it as the ‘short time of Satan’. Both books also refer to it as the time, times and a half time.

So basically Jesus said there would be signs that tell us we are in the ‘time of the end’, but we will not know when that ‘short time of Satan’ ends; that we will not know the moment it ends which is the moment He returns.

BUT we will know if we pay attention to the signs that we are in that period just before His return. And one of these signs Jesus gave is ‘earthquakes in diverse places.’ So earthquakes are a sign of the end times.

Is an earthquake a sign of the end times? Not necessarily. An earthquake two hundred years ago obviously is not. A singular instance of an earthquake alone means nothing, just as one data point in science does not make a graph or a conclusion.

But the Washington DC earthquake taken together with other earthquakes such as the Japan quake/tsunami and the Indonesian quake/tsunami could be taken as the ‘birth pangs’ that are to occur prior to His return. And when coupled with the widespread apostasy we see in Christendom (another sign of the end) and other signs, it is reasonable for Christian leaders and lay people to take note and wonder if we are indeed in that time of the end before the return.

Why else did Jesus say there would be signs and to look up when we see them because they mean our redemption is near (i.e. His return is near).

I believe the DC quake is one of the many signs of these times, a sign that we are in the time of the end. (At first we are shocked to hear of such a big quake in a non-quake area, but soon we return to our complacency and just ignore it and move on it seems. Why? What do those who ignore these things think Jesus meant, I wonder? [He meant when you see these things make doubly sure you are ready.])

God bless you.

 

[Zooey]

"Faith1960:

So why do Pat Robertson and some other televangelists make these type of pronouncements at all?

Well…I suspect that Pat does whatever the little voices in his head tell him to do.

Re: the Washington Monument

The Liberty Bell has a crack in it. Have you ever thought that was a judgment from God or a warning? Of course not. It’s a sign that people celebrated a little too hard with that bell.

The Washington Monument has a crack in it. The Earth has a lot of cracks in it, and it’s an infinitely greater “building” from an infinitely greater Architect. We live in a fallen world. These things happen. Them’s the breaks from Adam and Eve.

We have been living in the end times ever since Jesus ascended to His Father. There have always been wars and rumors of wars, storms, earthquakes, and all the rest. We always need to repent and turn back to God. There’s no need to know the day or the hour, particularly since we’re a lot more likely to need our souls to be in order if we should get hit by a car tomorrow. Worry about the end of your personal world (ie, in death) more, and you will worry about the end of the whole world less.

So you don’t put any stock into the idea the end is near?

The end has been near ever since Christ died on the Cross for our sins, was buried, descended into hell, and arose again on the third day.:byzsoc:

 

[beehumble]

The end has been near ever since Christ died on the Cross for our sins, was buried, descended into hell, and arose again on the third day.:byzsoc:

Actually no, not from the human perspective (for God all time is now).

Jesus said the gospel would first have to be preached to all nations, and also the Jews need to recognize/acknowledge Him as the Messiah. Jesus knew it would take some 1900 to 2000 years to preach His message throughout the world, just from simple logistics.

So it is a fallacy to say it has always been “near” since He ascended. For the disciples, it was in the distant future hence one reason (there are others such as so we do not wait til the last minute to convert) He did not tell them, and one reason why Revelation uses the term ‘thousand years’ - an idiom meaning way off in the distant future. (Think of somebody telling you details and dates of something that will happen in 4011 CE - would you really care about it?? Would it change your current mission to preach the Gospel to the nations?)

But now it is indeed ‘near’ - Jesus is right at the door, since the signs He said that would happen in “the time of the end” have happened and are happening.

From EWTN website:
ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/coming.htm

…The Words of the Mother of Mercy, the Blessed Virgin, to St. Faustina in the 1930s:

• You have to speak to the world about His great mercy and** prepare the world for the Second Coming of Him who will come**, not as a merciful Savior, but as a just Judge. Oh how terrible is that day! Determined is the day of justice, the day of divine wrath. The angels tremble before it. Speak to souls about this great mercy while it is still the time for granting mercy. (Diary 635).*

It is clear that, like the message of Fátima, the urgency here is the urgency of the Gospel, “repent and believe.” The exact timing is the Lord’s. However, it is also clear that we have reached some critical phase of the end times that began with the birth of the Church.

So Look Up!

God bless you.

 

[beehumble]

"Pat is at it again, making dire predictions. When Jesus said in Scripture that “no one but The Father knows the day or the hour” the end of the world will occur, He did mean that we can’t accurately make predictions, right? "

**The mis-use of Jesus’s saying “no man knows the hour…” should stop. It is one of the most abused instances of proof texting out there today.

Anyone who quotes it should and must in all decency and accuracy also quote how Jesus also said there would be signs of His second coming and when we see the signs we are to look up because He is coming!**

We Christians, St. Paul says, will not be caught asleep in the dark by the thief who comes in the night, becuase we are in the light and so should be awake when the thief comes.

Does this mean we are supposed to be sure we are ready, and when we see the thief coming, and our neighbors sleeping, let them be robbed?

No. The signs Jesus spoke of mean we who are awake, when we see the thief approaching, are to awaken as many of our neighbors as possible.

If you are in a hostel and awake late at night and see a thief approaching, do you just turn the light on in your room so the thief will see the light under your door and not rob you? Or is it more Christian to alert as many as possible to the approach of the thief?

We who are awake, when we see these signs, are to tell our ‘neighbors’ too. Blessed Mary at the famous latest apparition asks us to spread her messages to as many as possible. She has “recruited” many to help her in this regard, such as Wayne Weible, Michael Brown, and others.

Pat Robertson, a Christian leader, is doing exactly what he is supposed to be doing at this time - alerting his flock to the approach of the ‘thief’. He knows this brings scorn upon him, but he does it anyway since it is his duty.

When asked what is going on with the latest apparition of Blessed Mary, purported seer Ivanka smiles and says, “Pray and then you will know.” Her answer is not a rebuke, but she is saying indirectly,“From your question I know you are not praying enough.” So her answer is that the questioner should pray.

Those who do not know what hour it is, I suggest, are not praying enough, for Blessed Mary said if we pray we will know and understand the signs of these times. Blessed Mary has specifically said, " Pray to understand the signs of these times."

Look up!

God bless you.

 

[OrdinaryMelkite]

"Pat is at it again, making dire predictions. When Jesus said in Scripture that “no one but The Father knows the day or the hour” the end of the world will occur, He did mean that we can’t accurately make predictions, right? "

**The mis-use of Jesus’s saying “no man knows the hour…” should stop. It is one of the most abused instances of proof texting out there today.

Anyone who quotes it should and must in all decency and accuracy also quote how Jesus also said there would be signs of His second coming and when we see the signs we are to look up because He is coming!**

We Christians, St. Paul says, will not be caught asleep in the dark by the thief who comes in the night, becuase we are in the light and so should be awake when the thief comes.

Does this mean we are supposed to be sure we are ready, and when we see the thief coming, and our neighbors sleeping, let them be robbed?

No. The signs Jesus spoke of mean we who are awake, when we see the thief approaching, are to awaken as many of our neighbors as possible.

If you are in a hostel and awake late at night and see a thief approaching, do you just turn the light on in your room so the thief will see the light under your door and not rob you? Or is it more Christian to alert as many as possible to the approach of the thief?

We who are awake, when we see these signs, are to tell our ‘neighbors’ too. Blessed Mary at the famous latest apparition asks us to spread her messages to as many as possible. She has “recruited” many to help her in this regard, such as Wayne Weible, Michael Brown, and others.

Pat Robertson, a Christian leader, is doing exactly what he is supposed to be doing at this time - alerting his flock to the approach of the ‘thief’. He knows this brings scorn upon him, but he does it anyway since it is his duty.

When asked what is going on with the latest apparition of Blessed Mary, purported seer Ivanka smiles and says, “Pray and then you will know.” Her answer is not a rebuke, but she is saying indirectly,“From your question I know you are not praying enough.” So her answer is that the questioner should pray.

Those who do not know what hour it is, I suggest, are not praying enough, for Blessed Mary said if we pray we will know and understand the signs of these times. Blessed Mary has specifically said, " Pray to understand the signs of these times."

Look up!

God bless you.

Interesting POV, Beehumble. I mostly agree with it. And you’re right-----Robertson is NOT giving a date and time; he is telling people to watch out for possible signs----like good Christians have been doing since the beginning of Christianity. Does not mean his flock is obligated to listen to him----but he IS “doing his job.”

I personally discount his theories but I DO agree we need to “keep our eyes open” and “be aware.” A lot of weird stuff is accelerating and increasing in frequency now.

 

[beehumble]

Interesting article on the increase of larger earthquakes found via spiritdaily.com

lewrockwell.com/rep2/earthquakes-increasing.html

Both charts in the article show the numbers this year spiking up a lot…in my opinion we will see this increased level over the next few years to the point where it becomes obvious to everyone that something is going on, but we will just have to see what happens.

God bless you.

 

[Oldtimer_7]

If I may make a historical and geologic point here. The valley of the Jordan River is the northern end of the Great Rift Valley, which begins in Africa and is one of the most geologically active areas of the world. At the northern end of this valley is the area known in the first century as Caesarea Phillipi. There was a cave there, known at the Grotto of Pan, and temples to Pan and other pagan gods. In the first century, there was a waterfall inside the cave, and with the resonance of the cave, it is not surprising that the people of that time thought they heard the tumult of many voices. The opening of the cave was called the Gates of Hades. When Saint Peter gave his confession of faith in Matthew 16, Jesus and the Disciples were standing in front of that cave,so there was a very literal meaning to saying the the Gates of Hell could not stand against the church. Incidentally, earthquakes have caused the waterfall inside the cave to dry up and water now emerges at a spring at the mouth of the cave.

I imagine that a first century inhabitant of the Jordan valley would have laughed at a .5.8 earthquake, just like the people in California today. I do agree that we need to heed the words that Robinson is alluding to, but after 2,000 years, they have a much more spiritual than literal meaning. In the best Southern tradition, all I can say about brother Robinson is “Bless his heart.”

 

[Mintaka]

Re: increased earthquake numbers and intensity

There are clusters of earthquakes every so often in all the major fault areas. For example, there were clusters of earthquakes and volcanoes around the world around the time of the Great San Francisco Earthquake. Before that, there were clusters around the turn of the 19th and 18th and 17th and 16th centuries. And so on.

Did the world end after the San Francisco earthquake or the eruption of Mt. Pelee on Martinique?

Did the world end after the New Madrid earthquake or the Port Royal earthquake or the Lisbon earthquake?

Well, seeing as we’re all still here, obviously not.

The good Lord has allowed some really incredibly huge and destructive natural disasters to occur without it being in any way close to the end of the world. What we’ve had lately is tiddlywinks, when it comes to geological activity. The most you can say is that it’s wise to keep your nose clean at all times.

 

[Faith1960]

Re: increased earthquake numbers and intensity

There are clusters of earthquakes every so often in all the major fault areas. For example, there were clusters of earthquakes and volcanoes around the world around the time of the Great San Francisco Earthquake. Before that, there were clusters around the turn of the 19th and 18th and 17th and 16th centuries. And so on.

Did the world end after the San Francisco earthquake or the eruption of Mt. Pelee on Martinique?

Did the world end after the New Madrid earthquake or the Port Royal earthquake or the Lisbon earthquake?

Well, seeing as we’re all still here, obviously not.

The good Lord has allowed some really incredibly huge and destructive natural disasters to occur without it being in any way close to the end of the world. What we’ve had lately is tiddlywinks, when it comes to geological activity. The most you can say is that it’s wise to keep your nose clean at all times.

Thanks. There are those who insist that along with the clusters of earthquakes, the hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, apostacy ect. are THE signs that the end is near. What do you say to them?

 

[smswife]

The end will come today for tens of thousands of us throughout the world.

I am 50 years old. I can be reasonably sure that my end will come within the next 50. It may be today.

Precisely because we cannot predict the moment, we must be ready at all moments. Our Lord repeated this practical conclusion again and again; as if the promise of the Return had been made for the sake of this conclusion alone. Watch, watch, is the burden of his advice. I shall come like a thief. You will not, I most solemnly assure you you will not, see me approaching. If the householder had known at what time the burglar would arrive, he would have been ready for him. If the servant had known when his absent employer would come home, he would not have been found drunk in the kitchen. But they didn’t. Nor will you. Therefore you must be ready at all times.

. . .George MacDonald has written well. “Do those,” he asks, “who say, Lo here or lo there are the signs of his coming, think to be too keen for him and spy his approach? When he tells them to watch lest he find them neglecting their work, they stare this way and that, and watch lest he should succeed in coming like a thief! Obedience is the one key of life.”

The doctrine of the Second Coming has failed, so far as we are concerned, if it does not make us realize that at every moment of every year in our lives Donne’s question “What if this present were the world’s last night?” is equally relevant.

-C.S. Lewis “The World’s Last Night”

 

[beehumble]

Re: increased earthquake numbers and intensity

There are clusters of earthquakes every so often in all the major fault areas. For example, there were clusters of earthquakes and volcanoes around the world around the time of the Great San Francisco Earthquake. Before that, there were clusters around the turn of the 19th and 18th and 17th and 16th centuries. And so on.

Did the world end after the San Francisco earthquake or the eruption of Mt. Pelee on Martinique?

Did the world end after the New Madrid earthquake or the Port Royal earthquake or the Lisbon earthquake?

Well, seeing as we’re all still here, obviously not.

The good Lord has allowed some really incredibly huge and destructive natural disasters to occur without it being in any way close to the end of the world. What we’ve had lately is tiddlywinks, when it comes to geological activity. The most you can say is that it’s wise to keep your nose clean at all times.

A singular earthquake is not the sign given. [Perhaps those commenting on the signs should be sure to know what the signs are first?] Jesus spoke of earthquakes in relation to birth pangs - the onset of labor pains. Labor pains start out small and almost imperceptible and increase in frequency and intensity.

According to this article, earthquakes are increasing:

lewrockwell.com/rep2/earthquakes-increasing.html