A devastating earthquake strikes a country that experts say was overdue for one. Knowing that calamity is coming is one thing; preparing for it is another.
While a study of earthquakes and tectonic plates is not my area of expertise, I can predict with a high degree of certainty a coming cataclysm. The precedent for this future disaster is found in an ancient event:
"Then the two men said to Lot, "Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place; for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the LORD that the LORD has sent us to destroy it." (Genesis 19:12-13)
The account of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is legendary, and serves as an example of what is to come:
"It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back . Remember Lot's wife." (Luke 17:28-32)
September 11, 2001 began as a perfectly normal fall day in New York City. Nothing in the early morning routine in that city hinted at the coming catastrophe. But, with brutal suddenness, disaster came.
Perhaps it was a similar day in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Few, if any, noticed the urgent flight from the city of a family and two men as they arose and began early morning preparation for the day. But, as day dawned, inescapable death and fiery destruction descended.
Most peculiar of all is Jesus' admonition to "Remember Lot's wife." Despite a clear and urgent warning by God's angelic messengers, she looked longingly back at the city of Sodom and immediately became a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26). Present deliverance is forfeited in the face of impending judgment when we long for where we have been and what we have had.
The God of mercy is a Holy God of judgment - a fact much neglected these days. His patience is merciful, but it will not last forever. Amidst these days when abhorrent sins continue to pile high into the heavens, God's action point approaches with awful suddenness and finality for the unprepared.
This is the day to seek His face and blessings, and to extend an urgent warning to the unprepared. Now is the time of salvation, because the next moment may be too late. You have His Word on that.
Steve
While a study of earthquakes and tectonic plates is not my area of expertise, I can predict with a high degree of certainty a coming cataclysm. The precedent for this future disaster is found in an ancient event:
"Then the two men said to Lot, "Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place; for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the LORD that the LORD has sent us to destroy it." (Genesis 19:12-13)
The account of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is legendary, and serves as an example of what is to come:
"It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back . Remember Lot's wife." (Luke 17:28-32)
September 11, 2001 began as a perfectly normal fall day in New York City. Nothing in the early morning routine in that city hinted at the coming catastrophe. But, with brutal suddenness, disaster came.
Perhaps it was a similar day in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Few, if any, noticed the urgent flight from the city of a family and two men as they arose and began early morning preparation for the day. But, as day dawned, inescapable death and fiery destruction descended.
Most peculiar of all is Jesus' admonition to "Remember Lot's wife." Despite a clear and urgent warning by God's angelic messengers, she looked longingly back at the city of Sodom and immediately became a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26). Present deliverance is forfeited in the face of impending judgment when we long for where we have been and what we have had.
The God of mercy is a Holy God of judgment - a fact much neglected these days. His patience is merciful, but it will not last forever. Amidst these days when abhorrent sins continue to pile high into the heavens, God's action point approaches with awful suddenness and finality for the unprepared.
This is the day to seek His face and blessings, and to extend an urgent warning to the unprepared. Now is the time of salvation, because the next moment may be too late. You have His Word on that.
Steve
posted by steve @ 8:01 AM
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