Dateline destruction

CEBU, Philippines - To say then, that Typhoon Yolanda is the worst and strongest typhoon ever to hit the world is a lethal lie and downright misleading. The only recorded worst storm and strongest flood ever to have ravaged the world was the one recorded during the time of Noah. Scientific, archeological and historical evidences have proven that a global flood did occur on the Earth at that time and that the only survivors were eight people and that is the family of Noah.

Did the quake in Bohol, the flooding in Northern Cebu and the storm surge and anarchy in Tacloban signal the "beginning of sorrows"? While Scripture bares record in Matthew 24 of the Lord Jesus Christ having said that "nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom and there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places," it may no longer need more quakes and storms to say that these are "the beginning of sorrows." If indeed these are the beginning of sorrows, is the Rapture the next episode? And if these are but a preview of the "beginning of sorrows," are the affected populace of these calamities and the Filipino people listening to that "still small voice" of what the Lord God has to say?

By comparison, the ravages that Typhoon Yolanda left are but a pittance to the global flood of the Old Testament. Typhoon Yolanda lasted only for a few hours while the great flood lasted for more than a year before the water subsided and land could be seen. Scripture and science validate each other that all throughout human history, the Lord God sent floods, strong winds and quakes or nature to speak to humanity in clear terms. But then the question is, is humanity listening and heeding to what the Lord God has to say in clear terms?

Appointment with Terror.

For instance, when God destroyed Christian and Catholic churches with a 7.2 quake in Bohol and Cebu in less than five minutes last October 15, what was it that He was trying to say? Leviticus 26 says that when people worship graven images and idols, when people worship other things of the imaginations of the heart, He will destroy high places, appoint terror, consume with fire, cast carcasses upon the carcasses of idols, turn cities into waste and bring sanctuaries to desolation. Did God really do all these to tell humanity in the face, that "you have become so idolatrous"? When God sent a global flood during the time of Noah, it was because the earth was corrupt and full of violence. It was God's message of saying that He will bring in flood upon the world of the ungodly. Is God saying this again in the Yolanda flooding? The answer to both could be yes. The idolatry of graven images, the idolatry for corruption, the idolatry for violence may have been God's language of communication, a destruction dateline, to a people who deserve it.

In the aftermath of the quake, a seven-year-old boy walking amid the rubble of San Isidro, Bohol asked, "If the Lord Our God sent His Son to redeem humanity from their sins, did God also send the quake to destroy humanity?" Obviously, this young boy got the point. God sent His Son to redeem humanity of their sins, but on one condition, there must be repentance. Godly repentance means a complete turning away from sin.

Early on, God has been giving early warning signs that He will destroy if people do not repent. But are people like the Filipino people really willing to repent? Are the Filipino people willing to stop worshiping idols and graven images? Are the Filipino people willing to stop watching vulgar noontime shows and anti-social telenovelas? Are the Filipino people willing to stop corruption in government? Are the Filipino youth willing to stop listening to Illuminati music and watching Illuminati MTVs? Are the Filipino families willing to stop giving gadgets to their children that will destroy their moral values? Are the Filipino people willing to stop homosexuality and same gender unions? Are the Filipino people willing to repudiate reproduction manipulation and abortion? Are the Filipino people willing to accept the Lord Jesus Christ in their hearts and live a life as Christ and the Lord God wants the Filipino people to live?

If the answer to some or all of the above is no, then it is for certain that this is now the beginning of sorrows and that more quakes and more deadly storms are just a few days away. The media has been sensationalizing pain, suffering and affliction in the aftermath of the disasters. And yet they trivialize the disaster by making jokes out of it, in the guise of a resilient culture. The thing is, man cannot trivialize God. If man makes jokes with God, God will also make jokes at man and the consequences are often catastrophic. Psalm 2 says that "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision."

Then again, the Lord God is the alpha and the omega, the author and finisher of life. He is also a merciful and compassionate God. Before He sends another wave of disaster He is only asking one thing, REPENT, accept the Lord Jesus Christ and live in Christ-like ways.

Is there repentance when people turn to anarchy purportedly in the name of survival? Is there repentance when people still hold on to their idols? Is there repentance when people make fun out of the quake? Is there repentance when victims exploit rescue and relief workers? And then the question, if repentance is the only thing God would ask to stop the strong winds and the quakes, will the Filipino people repent?

When Elijah met with the Lord in the cave, Scripture bares record in 1 Kings 19 that the Lord God was not in the great and strong wind that rent the mountains and broke the rocks, God was not in the wind, God was not in the quake and God was not in the fire. Rather, the Lord was in the still small voice. Just like the seven-year-old who asked in a still small voice, so must people heed the simple message of repentance in a still small voice. Otherwise, God will once again speak loudly in a dateline with destruction. (FREEMAN)