Signs of the end of the age in Haiti?

Tuesday afternoon, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake rocked the small island nation of Haiti and its nine-million inhabitants. The quake flattened the president's palace, the cathedral, hospitals, schools, the main prison and whole neighborhoods. Officials feared thousands – perhaps more than 100,000 – may have perished but there was no firm count. One leading Haitian senator commented that there could be as many as 500,000 dead.

Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere and lacks the resources to aid the situation. Support and pledges of support are streaming in from around the globe, but how many will die before it arrives? Haiti was not prepared for such a quake and its buildings were not architecturally designed to handle a large magnitude earthquake. Numerous embassies in the nation's capital were destroyed and many foreign nationals serving in Haiti were killed, including UN international peacekeepers.

The massive destruction has severed power lines, completely disrupting internal communications in the nation. Relief organizations say it will take days to learn of the extent of the damage. This relatively shallow earthquake was the most severe quake to strike the island in over 200 years (Yahoo.com, January 13, 2010).

But why would a loving God, who made the residents of Haiti in His own image, allow such a horrific catastrophe and such tremendous devastation? And why Haiti, a nation that was already experiencing so much difficulty?

Near the end of His earthly ministry, Christ's disciples asked Him what signs would precede His second coming. In response, Jesus Christ listed numerous events that would signal His impending return, including "earthquakes in various places" (Matthew 24:7). The recent powerful earthquake in Haiti does not mean Christ will return tomorrow. However, it does fit with the signs Christ Himself gave for His return.

God will use powerful end-time events to get the attention of many peoples around the globe. God is "… not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). God will use these events to draw attention to His end-time gospel that will go forth to all the world, encouraging people to repent of their sins and return to Him and His way of life.

It is God's desire to spare people from the consequences of the sins that they choose to live in, as He is a merciful and loving Father. In the meantime, our adversary, Satan the devil, hates human beings made in the image of God and is going forth as "a roaring lion … seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8). And he is now especially angry because he knows he has "but a short time" left (Revelation 12:9-12).

As time goes on, we should expect to see events similar to the ones in Haiti occurring all around the globe, as these events are prophesied to be just the "beginning of sorrows" (Matthew 24:8). These catastrophes are gut-wrenching to watch and should motivate all of us to pray much more fervently for God's mercy and that His Kingdom come very soon (Matthew 6:10)!

We must also pray for the protection of our fellow human beings and that we can all come to the repentance that God so desires for us. God's Kingdom will usher in a time of unprecedented world peace, prosperity and safety, under the perfect rulership of Jesus Christ as the King of kings.

For more information on the vital topic of end-time catastrophes and more detailed answers to the question of why, please call, write for, or view our extremely insightful booklets, Who Controls the Weather? and Fourteen Signs Announcing Christ's Return.