At 10 pm on Saturday,
August 27, 2005, the National
Hurricane Center issued a hurricane
warning for the north central gulf
coast – from Morgan City,
Louisiana, eastward to the
Alabama/Florida border including the
city of New Orleans. A hurricane
warning means that hurricane
conditions are expected within 24
hours and preparations to protect
life and property should be rushed to
completion. At the time of the
warning, the center of Hurricane
Katrina was located about 335 miles
south-southeast of the mouth of the
Mississippi River. Tens of thousands
heeded the warning and the highways
going out of New Orleans were choked
with cars alternating between stop
and 10 mph.
Hurricane Katrina arrived at 6:30
Monday morning, August 29, 2005, as a
category four hurricane. A couple of
days later, people began to realize
that it was one of the greatest
natural disasters that have ever
occurred in the United States
history. The swath of destruction
covered 90,000 square miles (about
the size of Kansas). Currently,
more than 300,000 people have lost
their homes. Engineers estimate that
as much as eighty percent of New
Orleans flooded because the levees
and water pumps failed. The damage
caused by wind and water could total
more than 100 billion dollars. The
area between New Orleans and Mobile,
Alabama clearly resembles the
destruction caused by the tsunami
that hit southern Asia in December
2004. Given the biblical proportion
of this event, here are some thought
questions to consider:
1.
Was Hurricane Katrina an act of God
– that is, a deliberate
punishment?
2.
Did God time the arrival of Hurricane
Katrina so that the Southern
Decadence convention could not be
held? (The Southern Decadence
convention is a gay and lesbian
version of Mardi Gras that has been
ongoing in New Orleans since 1972.
This orgy and drunken celebration
lasts four or five days and more than
120,000 revelers attended last year.)
3.
Did God target New Orleans and the
cities of the gulf coast because
citizens there are more wicked than
other cities in the United States? Is
it possible that New Orleans and the
gulf coast cities had exhausted
God’s grace and protection?
4.
Are a majority of the victims
of Hurricane Katrina evil people?
5.
Were you surprised at the lawlessness
and looting that occurred in New
Orleans?
6.
What will be Katrina’s influence
on the United States economy in days
to come?
7.
As you watched Katrina’s drama
unfold, did you think about coming
events?
Commentary
I believe Hurricane
Katrina, like the tsunami in southern
Asia in December 2004, was another
“birth pain,” and you need
to be aware that several more
“birth pains” are coming.
As the Second Coming of Jesus draws
near, events of biblical proportion
will escalate in severity and
frequency, and their purpose is
fourfold: First, disasters forcibly
remind us that material things are
temporal. The things in life that
matter most are the people around us
– loved ones and neighbors.
Second, disasters bring out the best
and worst in people. True character
is revealed in anarchy. Caring people
respond to the needs of those around
them and selfish people think only of
them selves and their survival. The
problem with the carnal nature is
that a large number of people (both
rich and poor) are law abiding only
because they are forced to be
so. Price gougers, thieves and
looters are of the same ilk. Third,
the economic ripple caused by huge
disasters forces those who
were unaffected to sympathize with
those who lost everything. Last,
horrific events are prophetic
samples of things to come. They
make the scope of Revelation’s
story easier to comprehend. The
powers of nature are truly awesome
and in this light, “birth
pains” are for the benefit of
the current generation.
According to His
sovereign authority, the Father
predetermined long ago that random
and violent acts of nature would
sharply increase near the end of the
world. Terrible events will grow in
frequency and strength as we draw
closer to the Second Coming. The
forces that create these natural
events were “built in” from
the beginning of creation. God
designed that nature itself would
draw attention to the fact that this
planet is predestined for
destruction. The cancer of sin is
about to be eliminated and the
appointed hour for the total
destruction of Earth is near.
You may ask, “How
do we really know the end of the
world is near?” Basically, there
are three ways to know that the time
of the Second Coming is near. First,
the apocalyptic prophecies of Daniel
and Revelation prove that the end is
near because they are chorological in
nature. Remember, the book of Daniel
was sealed up until the time of
the end (Daniel 12:4,9), and now
that we understand the four rules of
apocalyptic interpretation that were
sealed up in Daniel, we find that
Daniel and Revelation chronologically
chart the progression of time from
605 B.C., to the Second Coming. In
other words, the sequence of events
presented in Daniel and Revelation
means there is no other possible
conclusion than we are near the end.
Second, the frequency and intensity
of “birth pains” indicate
the Second Coming is near. Sooner or
later, the whole world will be
affected by these catastrophic events
and as a result of these calamities;
many will awaken to the fact that
planet Earth itself is dying. Third,
the degenerate condition of people
indicates the Second Coming is near.
Paul wrote, “But mark this:
There will be terrible times in the
last days. People will be
lovers of themselves, lovers of
money, boastful, proud, abusive,
disobedient to their parents,
ungrateful, unholy, without love,
unforgiving, slanderous, without
self-control, brutal, not lovers of
the good, treacherous, rash,
conceited, lovers of pleasure rather
than lovers of God – having a
form of godliness but denying its
power. Have nothing to do with
them.” (2 timothy 3:1-5)
The Beginning of Birth
Pains
Just before His death,
the disciples of Jesus asked about
signs that would herald His return
and the end of the world. Jesus said,
“You will hear of wars and
rumors of wars, but see to it that
you are not alarmed.
Such things must happen, but the end
is still to come. Nation will rise
against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom. There will be famines and
earthquakes in various places. All
these are the beginning of birth
pains.” (Matthew 24:6-8,
italics mine) The apostle Paul also
associated “birth pains”
with the Second Coming. He wrote, “For
you know very well that the day of
the Lord will come like a thief in
the night. While people are saying, ‘[we
need] Peace and safety,’
destruction will come on them
suddenly, as labor pains
on a pregnant woman, and will not
escape.” (1 Thessalonians
5:2,3, italics and insertion mine)
Calamitous events are
often blamed on God (called acts of
God) because God is sovereign. Many
people believe that God controls
everything that happens, but this is
not the case. If this were true, then
sin itself would never have happened.
However, Bible history does indicate
that God does destroy nations and
punish people. He even destroyed the
whole world in Noah’s day. There
is one major difference between
violent acts of nature and God’s
wrath. God lets people know what He
is about to do before He does it!
This is a crucial point. In fact,
this is why the book of Revelation
demands understanding. There is a
specific warning for Earth’s
final generation in the book of
Revelation. This warning can be
understood before the Great
Tribulation begins and if people
choose to reject it, they do so at
their own peril. “Surely the
Sovereign Lord does nothing without
revealing his plan to his servants
the prophets.” (Amos 3:7)
Hurricanes, tsunamis,
famines, earthquakes and runaway
fires are not necessarily a
deliberate punishment sent from God.
God has used and will use such events
as punishment, but when He does, He
sends a specific warning. In
today’s context, calamitous
events that come without divine
warning should be understood as
“birth pains.” God has not
yet punished New Orleans and other
notoriously wicked places on Earth,
but that day is coming.
Currently, God is
trying to speak to our generation,
but unfortunately, too few people
listen to His Word. For example,
millions of Christians are acquainted
with the term, “The Great
Tribulation,” but the irony is
that very few people believe it
applies to them. Most Christians fall
into one of two categories. The
larger group believes they will be in
Heaven when the Great Tribulation
begins because of a so-called
pre-tribulation rapture. The other
group believes the bulk of Revelation
happened in the past, that is, it is
historical in nature. The net effect
in both cases is the same –
Christians conclude the seven
trumpets of Revelation will not
affect them! How sad. How delusional.
Jesus said that birth pains would
indicate the end of the world is
coming and the good news is that
birth pains will eventually give way
to the creation of a new order. Like
Abraham, let’s keep looking for
the city whose builder and maker is
God. (Hebrew 11:10)
