Hi pastor mark, I have a question today about the volcano, the Taal volcano
that's erupting in the Philippines we read in the Bible and in prophecy about
future events and nature seems to be all out of course right now and I'm just
wondering you know this is this significant does this point to anything
biblically speaking you know Matt I was looking at the news reports this morning
the Tal volcano is one of the major active volcanoes in the Philippines it's
a smaller volcano actually but they over the last few days it's been spewing out
ash and half a million people are under evacuation orders but just this morning
on January 13 and when we're taping this program the volcano has now erupted it's
30,000 people are in the immediate danger zone the last time a major
volcano like this in Luzon erupted was in 1977 you know I held an evangelistic
series in the Luzon not far from the may on volcano the most perfectly Koishi
Pokeno in the world just to give you a little background though of this
particular towel volcano it's about 65 miles from Manila at the airport and the
ash has been going through the air they've had to ground 500 flights in the
Philippines because of it the airport has been closed the Red Cross is issuing
thousands and thousands of masks for people because evidently the danger from
this particular volcano is not so much the flowing lava but it's the ash that
can travel hundreds and hundreds of kilometers an hour you asked a question
about how this relates to Bible prophecy I wouldn't say that the eruption of one
volcano is a great indication that the end of the world is coming but when you
put the pieces of the puzzle together that's what becomes most troubling and
most enlightening you look at things like the rapid rise of hurricanes
natural disasters tournay those floods you look at the global
warming the melting of the polar ice caps
there are many scientists who believe that it's a result of the melting of the
polar ice caps that the sea levels are going to rise that cities along the
coastal area of the world are going to be inundated with water I know here in
the United States we have had an unusual amount of tornadoes that have come
through and destroyed cities weather patterns seem to be just a very haywire
today and so how do we see all that what does the Bible have anything to say
about nature before the coming of Christ Romans the eighth chapter is quite an
amazing passage Romans chapter 8 and you're looking at first 18 rather verse
22 and onward these verses tell about groaning and there are three groaning so
Romans 8:22 says we know that the whole creation groans and Labor's with birth
pains together until now the whole creation it will be groaning before the
coming of Christ well that's what these earthquakes are it's the groaning of the
earth that's what these great volcanic eruptions are it's the groaning of the
earth there's a global warming it is nature's groaning the longing to be
delivered it's interesting to verse 23 says not only they that it's not only
nature but we also have the fruits first through the spirit even we ourselves
groan within ourselves waiting for a girl a waiting for the adoption the
redemption of our body so nature is groaning and within us we are groaning
because when we see the sickness the suffering the death around us our hearts
groan that that is they cry out then it's interesting there's the third
groaning here it says that the holy spirit presents our prayers before God
in intercession with groanings that cannot be uttered so the Holy Spirit
takes our prayers our groanings and presents them before God and we say like
revelation says at the end surely the Lord Jesus
quickly so what do I see with all these natural disasters what do I see when the
Isaiah says the earth is waxing old like a garment I see all of nature pointing
forward to the great climactic day when Christ indeed is going to come in fact
Jesus talked about nature both in Matthew 24 and in Luke 21 in Matthew 24
jesus said to be famines earthquakes pestilences in other words natural
phenomena Luke chapter 21 Jesus puts it this way he says there'll be signs and
the Sun the Moon the stars and on the earth this is verse 25 and 26 distress
of Nations with perplexity and the sea roaring men's hearts failing them for
fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth I was
reading a news report today about the Tile volcanic eruption and it tells the
story of a woman and she talks about her fear and their anxiety as they see this
volcano erupting and she said I have nothing left my house is gone I don't
know where my father is you know it says here in Matthew 21 26
men's hearts failing them for fear I mean I think of the people as we are
doing this program that are running in fear crying out in our why because
everything behind them is gone the lava has taken away their houses and they've
lost loved ones men's hearts failing for fear and the expectation of things that
are coming on the earth the powers of heaven will be shaken then they'll see
the Son of man coming in the clouds with power and great glory now somebody says
haven't we always had war rumors of wars famines earthquakes volcanic eruptions
tornadoes we have the difference I think today is that we see these things taking
place with increasing magnitude increasing frequency and we see them on
a universal worldwide scale whether it's famine in Africa whether it's pestilence
is destroying our crops whether it is volcanic eruptions whether it's
earthquakes whether it's global warming that so much talked about
by government agencies today we see these things rapidly happening what does
the Bible say what did Jesus say about his people when we see these events
taking place I think there are two passages that are very helpful one is in
Matthew 24 and the other is the Apostle Paul's statement at 1st Thessalonians 5
in Matthew 24 Jesus says this he says when you see these things come to pass
watch it therefore verse 42 for you do not know about what hour your Lord is
coming but know this if the master of the house had known what hour the thief
would come he would have watched and be ready therefore be you also ready for an
hour that you don't expect the Son of Man is coming what is this saying to us
it is saying that in fact Jesus says here that the evil servant says in his
heart that the Lord is not coming soon so what is Jesus calling us to do when
he says watch when he says be ready he's calling us to live with expectation he's
calling us to live with this sense of his return will he come in a year three
years five years 15 years we don't know we don't know the timing but we live in
expectation we live in the glorious hope of his return and that's what Jesus
meant I think when Jesus put it this way in through the Apostle Paul in first
Thessalonians chapter five Jesus through the Apostle Paul by the Holy Spirit
speaks to us in first Thessalonians and he tells us that we have a decided
advantage as the people of God 1st Thessalonians chapter five Jesus says
when they say peace and safety and other word for safety security then sudden
destruction comes upon them as labor pains upon a pregnant woman but you
brothers and sisters are not in darkness so the day should overtake you as a
thief your sons of the light sons of the day were not in of the night nor of
darkness therefore let us not sleep as others do but let's watch and be sober
so the Bible says look you are children of the light when you see these events
happen war famine nation against nation Kingdom
against Kingdom pestilences earthquakes these natural disasters cling to the
hope of the coming of Christ you are not in darkness you are children of the
light Ellen White who I believe wrote with prophetic insight in the inner
thigh a series of volumes called the testimonies to the church in volume 8
page 28 says this we who know the truth should be preparing for what is soon to
break upon the earth as an overwhelming surprise that really is a good
complement to what Paul said that your children of the light not of the
darkness be sober be awake what does the rumbling of one volcano in Philippines
say to God's people today it says this is part of a pattern cling to the hope
of the second coming of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ oh man hi everyone
thanks for watching my name is Matt gray I'm the media director for hopeless 365
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