Earthquakes shake the globe.

On Sunday, October 23, a 7.2 earthquake shook Turkey, destroying thousands of buildings, killing more than 500 people, injuring more than 1,600 and leaving as many as 40,000 homeless (Telegraph, October 27, 2011; Washington Post, October 27, 2011).  On October 26, a 3.2 quake rattled the San Francisco Bay area of California and a 6.0 quake struck the South Pacific region near Fiji—just about a month after a 7.2 quake shook the same region of the “Ring of Fire” which stretches around the Pacific Rim (washingtonpost.com, October 26, 2011; CNN Wire Staff, October 26 and September 15, 2011).

Jesus admonished His disciples that they should mourn and care for those who are afflicted (Matthew 5:4).   He also prophesied that as we approach the end of the age, there will be “earthquakes in various places” and other natural disasters (Matthew 24:7).  Bible prophecies indicate that the increasing frequency and severity of these traumatic events will be the “beginning of sorrows” that will mark the imminent return of Jesus Christ to this earth (Matthew 24:8).

Christians need to watch as these events begin to dominate world news and pray earnestly, “Thy kingdom come!”