Horror in Haiti: What does it mean?

“And there shall be … earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” —Matthew 24:7, 8

The world has been truly stunned by the apocalyptic images that are flooding in from this massive earthquake, which violently shook the earth’s crust just beneath Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital.

It has been heartbreaking to see desperate quake survivors working feverishly, using sledgehammers and their bare hands, to free victims trapped beneath the concrete rubble and pleading for help.
The devastation is compounded with confused despair, as dazed victims wander the streets realizing their meager hospitals, government buildings, and emergency services are also paralyzed. Clean water, electric power, and telephone service are virtually nonexistent.

Kindness in the Midst of Catastrophe

It will still be some time before the full scope of this disaster and loss of life is fully assessed. Thousands have died.
Nevertheless, it has also been heartwarming to see the international outpouring of charity, sacrifice, and humanitarian aid. And now it is especially important for Christians to offer their service, give sacrificially, and to pray.

Why?

Some have already asked the question, Did God send this cataclysm as a divine punishment upon the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere?
Just a day following the disaster, Pat Robertson said on CBN that the nation of Haiti was devastated because its people “made a pact with the devil.”

We need to be very careful not to rush to judgment at times like this . Commenting on a local disaster back in His own day, Jesus explained, “Those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:4, 5).
The devil would like to snuff out every human life and, according to the law, that’s what we deserve. It’s only by the intervening grace of God that any of us are alive.

So what can we learn from this tragedy?

For one thing, as we near the end, powerful quakes like this one will strike with increasing frequency and intensity. The death of Jesus was itself marked by a significant earthquake, as was His resurrection (Matthew 27:54; 28:2). The Scriptures also tell us that the second coming of Christ will be accompanied by the largest earthquake in history (Revelation 16:17, 18). Only the redeemed will survive this seismic event!

There is something else we have seen from the earthquake in Haiti. The whole economy and political freedom of an entire country can be instantly altered when a massive earthquake reduces a major city to rubble. How quickly global prophetic events might activate if an earthquake of this magnitude — or bigger — should strike New York City, San Francisco, or Los Angeles.

It is only the patient mercy of God that has preserved the United States from “the big one” so far.

Pastor DB

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Cambridge Church of Seventh-day Adventists, Medford MA