Well said.

You might add "sleep! sleep! all is sleeeepy!"

for the objective thinking reader - the OP provides a link to a link that is worth reviewing.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/year/graphs.php

There you find that in ALL of the 1980's not only did we have fewer quakes we had AT MOST 26,550 deaths in a year - and that happened only once in that ten year span. In almost ALL other years in the 1980's the deaths were well below 10,000 for an entire year. No wonder the "Lisbon earthquake" with 90,000 deaths still made the charts for prophecy when discussing Matt 24!

In the 1990's you see a JUMP - such that in ONE year you have a whopping total of 55,000 deaths (1980)and in 1999 another whopper - 22,000 deaths! And still that Lisbon Earthquake - 90,000 deaths estimated, was something to consider when discussing Matt 24.



Then in the 2000 - 2010 span you see a WHOPPING jump of two years where each one has about 250,000 deaths! We have a 5.5 year window with 500,000 killed in earthquakes in just TWO of the 5 years! That 5 year window saw two years over over 220,000 each which means each of those years was record breaker for the past 400 years - and two 220k+ years in a short 5 year window is a record breaker sequence for all of recorded history.

Oops! I forgot a tiny detail - 2010 is not OVER! (So yeah - THIS is the year to make light of earthquakes -- )

In this not-yet 8 year span from 2003 to 2010 we have had two years with over 250,000 (but this Chart only shows above 220,000 each), one year with 88,000, one with 82,000 and one with 33,000. In other words ALL but 3 years in that 8 year window from 2003 to 2010 were higher than the HIGHEST ever recorded in the entire 10 year span of the 1980's.

So I gotta believe that if there was ever a time to be asleep at the wheel - our visionaries will make sure it is "this one".

In 1John 2 - John says "by this we know it is the LAST HOUR".

Imagine God telling John 2 write that almost 2000 years ago!

Imagine if John were living at a time when earthquakes had wiped out 700,000 people in the space of just 7 years!

Now let's Look at the list of major earthquakes going back to the 9th century A.D.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/historical.php

Count the number of times you find an earthquake killing 220,000 people or more.

1138 AD - 230,000 in Syria
1556 Ad - 830,000 in China (Magnitude 8 quake)
2004 AD - 227,000 in Sumatra(mag 9.1)
2010 AD - 220,000 in Haiti (Magnitude 7.0)

So far going from 2003 through the end of 2012 - we are looking at the deadliest 10 year window in all of recorded history.

And then we just had the M8.8 in Chile.

I suppose this is just "more things to ignore" for the group that does not like the idea of signs or the end of time.

in Christ,

Bob

yes. the population has grown quite a bit ...

I'm disappointed to see Karl and Bob misunderstanding. I, for one, understand that we are very much in the "end of time" and that VERY soon Jesus will come. (I think my website shows that very well.) There are many signs that Jesus gave us in Matthew 24 that prove that.

I just happen to be questioning whether or not earthquakes are one of the signs we are to be watching. So far I only see people here making fun of those who have questions and am not seeing real answers.

Is Jesus telling us that earthquakes are one of the signs of His coming, or not? If not, why is this discussion even going on?

I currently have a timeline dedicated to this very topic of earthquakes, but now I am not sure it should even be there. Anyone have real Bible (or even EGW) backup of what you are saying? I'd like to hear it please.

The Spirit of God is being withdrawn. Disasters by sea and by land follow one another in quick succession. How frequently we hear of earthquakes and tornadoes, of destruction by fire and flood, with great loss of life and property! Apparently these calamities are capricious outbreaks of disorganized, unregulated forces of nature, wholly beyond the control of man; but in them all, God's purpose may be read. They are among the agencies by which He seeks to arouse men and women to a sense of their danger.--Prophets and Kings, p. 277. {ChS 52.3}

No Bob, what is being ignored is what Jesus actually said.

Lineman nailed it:



What part of "see to it that you are not alarmed" or "the end is still to come" is so hard to understand?!?!

Jesus described all theses things as being "the beginning of birth pains." "Beginning" is the opposite of "end". Birth happens early in life, not at the end.

What does Jesus say actually happens just before "and then the end will come"? When that happens time will be completed. The end will then happen. Jesus will return after that sign of the end is fulfilled.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Will we know when the gospel is testified to all nations, the whole world? No. Only God knows when the gospel has been presented to every heart. That is why Jesus said, "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

And I am going to say "So?"

We look for BIG things to happen to indicate that Jesus is coming...Wars, and rumor of wars....Pestilence....famines....earthquakes....
...Death and destruction....As Jesus said, these are the BEGINNINGs of birth pangs. These are sensational things to talk about.....For the religious, it is the very things that may bring about the 2nd coming...isn't it?

I don't think so.....It isn't the sensational that God is interested in...God is NOT a god of sensation......"Let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as wool"....God is a God of faith, of love, of hope....isn't that what you would rather be talking about?

I was just looking at a post two days ago from the Intertel forum where this question was tossed in the ring for discussion.

They posted a link to the USGS site that listed all the earthquakes that were above 6.0.

Incidence of earthquakes that are above 6.0 on the Richter scale by year

3 in 1967; 7 in 1968; 4 in 1969; 5 in 1970; 4 in 1971; 6 in 1972; 1 in 1973; 5 in 1974; 6 in 1975; 6 in 1976; 2 in 1977; 2 in 1978; 2 in 1979;
6 in 1980; 3 in 1981; 1 in 1982; 4 in 1983; 1 in 1984; 4 in 1985; 3 in 1986; 4 in 1987; 4 in 1988; 2 in 1989; 2 in 1990; 3 in 1991; 6 in 1992;
3 in 1993 08; 3 in 1994; 4 in 1995; 1 in 1996; 6 in 1997; 8 in 1998; 13 in 1999; 7 in 2000; 7 in 2001; 23 in 2002; 39 in 2003; 35 in 2004; 35 in 2005; 25 in 2006; 47 in 2007; 35 in 2008; 52 in 2009


In the last seven years we have had 291 over 6.0 (2002 - 2009)
In the seven years before that we had 46 over 6.0 (1995 - 2002)
In the seven years before that we had 23 over 6.0 (1988 - 1995)
In the seven years before that we had 20 over 6.0 (1981 - 1988)

The original post is the answer to the question if the question were answered in 2001. Yesterday's answer is not suitable for today's question.

If you graph the above figures on a year by year chart, you will most certainly see the hockey stick that was missing in the global warming scheme.

Read the whole chapter. Matthew 24 is saying, in a nutshell, "Be watchful. Be wary. If you aren't, the end will sneak up on you."

Or, try Luke 21:34-36 "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."

This is important stuff. Spelled out in red letters.

Go ahead and pooh-pooh the earthquakes. They are not your redemption. Forget the signs of the times. They are not your redemption.

Just stay close to your Redemption. I don't know how you can do this without being watchful and wary, since that is what He told us to be, but.... maybe it can be done.

Ok, I just went and reread Matthew 24 from the NIV and still come away with the same understanding. The Message certainly says it in a different way, but it still says the same thing to me.

from Matthew 24 (The Message):


And the quote from EGW above (Thanks very much by the way!) reminds us that earthquakes are being used by God to wake us up, to keep us focused on what is important, yes, but it certainly does NOT tell us that the frequency of earthquakes is a sign of Christ's emanate return.

Seems to me that what Jesus said in verse 4 applies to what we are hearing today. According to The Message Jesus said,

Aren't we "doomsday deceivers" when we say that earthquakes are one of the signs of His coming when He PLAINLY says that they are just "routine history"?

I think I'm going to totally remove the Earthquake Timeline from my website right now. I certainly want people to KNOW that Jesus is coming very soon, but I no longer want to be a doomsday deceiver, trying to use something that looks like a sign, but in reality is NOT a sign of His coming.

Do we want people to see that Jesus is coming soon? Absolutely, but using "lies" to deceive people of this fact is counter productive it seems, nor is it Christ-like.

Karl, I totally agree that this is "important stuff", but that is NOT my point.

My point is, aren't we adding to "the anxieties of life" by telling people that Jesus is using earthquakes as a sign when He clearly does NOT say such a thing?