Of Brimstone and Earthquakes

One of the most interesting to me, and by the look of the blog statistics, others as well, is earthquakes as an end times sign. Jesus said that as a sign of His coming there would be earthquakes in diverse places. (Matthew 24:7). Of course, He gave other signs too. And also of course, one earthquake does not mean the end is near.

The end time is actually the time when Jesus ascended and will end when He comes back. So by that token, there have been many earthquakes over the last 2000 years. So what makes so many of us so sure that this is the end of the end time?

Jesus also said that the signs of His coming will be as birth pangs on a woman. (many parallel verses here.) The earth will travail and groaneth as in labor. (Romans 8:22).

You have to think about how labor pains work. The pregnancy gestates, at first unnoticed. Then the baby bump appears. It grows larger, seemingly slowly at first, then quickly. Finally the labor begins with the water breaking (I liken that to the rapture). After the water breaks the real labor has arrived. At first the pangs are painful but bearable. They come far apart. But then they increase with intensity and finally they are unbearably overlapping, painfully crashing one upon the other.

So in the early part of the century there was an earthquake or two here and there. But now, the quakes (and other signs too, I hasten to add) are all happening more frequently with more intensity. So let's look at quakes.

There was only 1 major quake this past week. (June 10-16). "Major" quakes according to the US Geological Survey are quakes with a magnitude above 6.0 There was a 6.0 in Taiwan.

There were some smaller quakes in unusual places:

4.2 Pakistan
3.1 Dallas
2.5 Urban area Oklahoma City
2.8 near Oklahoma City
3.3 near Oklahoma City
5.3 Turkey-Iraq-Syria border region
2.6 Colorado
2.7 Colorado
4.0, 4.2, 5.7, 5.4, 4.6 Afghanistan

As I have been sharing, the end time prophesies are not just contained in Matthew 24. They are all over the entire bible. As a matter of fact, there is an end time judgment reference in every New Testament book except Philemon. And of course, Revelation is the granddaddy of the bible books with the most information in one place regarding the promises of God in the last days.

Mexico's Volcano Popocatepetl

In Joel chapter 2 there is a reference to "columns of smoke". "And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes." (Joel 2:30-31).

The Hebrew word defines column of smoke as a pillar or palm-like tree trunk. It is a vivid picture, and can, in my opinion, be interpreted as volcanic column of ash and smoke. For the last three years, volcanoes the scientists thought were dormant have been popping back to life, sometimes very unexpectedly (Chile's Chaiten).

Science fact of the day: Did you know that the biblical term for "brimstone" is the chemical element sulfur? Elemental sulfur can be found near hot springs and volcanic regions in many parts of the world, especially along the Pacific Ring of Fire. Hydrogen sulfide is the compound that smells like rotten eggs.

Smith's bible dictionary explains: "Brimstone, or sulphur, is found in considerable quantities on the shores of the Dead Sea. (Genesis 19:24). It is a well-known simple mineral substance, crystalline, easily melted, very inflammable, and when burning emits a peculiar suffocating odor. It is found in great abundance near volcanoes. The soil around Sodom and Gomorrah abounded in sulphur and bitumen." The bible refers to brimstone 14 times. The Lake of Fire burns with brimstone, "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8).

Though I don't have quantifiable numbers, it seems that along with quakes, volcanic activity has dampened somewhat these last two or three weeks. The calm before the storm? Or the catching of breath before the next, bigger pang?