earthquake – Page 4

Earthquake update: how was 2012 compared to previous years?

Posted on January 1, 2013May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Now that the last day of 2012 is here, I updated the earthquake chart I’d posted on Dec. 23 to see how many we have had this year, in comparison to previous years. 2012 surprised us by being the first year after three straight years in which the number of quakes in magnitude categories had exceeded the average number set by the USGS. See for yourself (you can click to enlarge):

You can see that the average number of quakes in the magnitude 5 range far exceeded the United States Geological Survey annual average. The number in the 8 range surpassed the annual average expected quakes for that magnitude. And the number of quakes in the 7 range came close but did not surpass the annual average. And the number of quakes in the 6 range did not come close at all. Data from USGS.

An earthquake shall precede the Great and Terrible Day of the LORD:

“And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. (Zechariah 14:4)

Here is some other earthquake news which indicates some heavy earthquake activity in localized areas of the world:

Over 3,000 Noticeable Quakes Hit Japan In 2012
“Quoting the Japan Meteorological Agency, the NHK broadcaster reported that a total of 3,134 quakes had been felt across Japan until Sunday (December 30) which is about 1,000 more than the annual average from 2001 to 2010.”

The article goes on to show that even though Japan endured many quakes in 2012, there was a noticeable decrease in number of quakes from the year prior (when there were 10,000).

Earthquakes are visible tokens of the LORD’S power over the earth and heavens:

“Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.” (Hebrews 12:26)

Costa Rica saw most seismic activity in past 62 years during 2012
“According to the Costa Rican Volcanology and Seismology Observatory (OVSICORI), after the magnitude 7.6 earthquake which occurred on September 5th, 2012, the country registered the highest level of earthquake activity it has seen in 62 years.”

Given the numbers of quakes for the last three years reported in the article above, a graph of them would look like this:

Revelation records that in the time of the Tribulation there will be some major, MAJOR quakes. The word in the Greek is mega seismos and you can tell even without using a translator that they are big ones.

Revelation 6:12, Revelation 8:5, Revelation 11:13, Revelation 11:19, Revelation 16:18 record future quakes. The verse in Revelation 16 says that it was a quake such has never been seen on the earth before by man, ‘so great was that quake’.

The Guardian Las Vegas reports,
Don’t panic! Preliminary data suggests earthquakes are indeed increasing worldwide
“Earthquakes and Volcanic eruptions have always been closely related. For instance, if you look at a map of quakes worldwide and compare it to a map of volcanoes, you’ll find that they match closely. … In recent weeks, earthquakes have exponentially increased in magnitude worldwide, worrying some researchers as they provide the fuse that ignites volcanoes. … In recent weeks, worldwide earthquake data indicates an increase in the magnitude and a significant increase in the frequency (magnitude > 5.5) of earthquakes.”

The bible says that earthquakes are often accompanied by volcanic eruptions:

“He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.” (Psalms 104:32)

So that is your final 2012 earthquake update! (Unless something happens in the next 5 hours, which I hope it doesn’t!)

earthquake, end time, frankenstorm, hurricane sandy, jesus, prophecy, shell shock

Frankenstorm and British Columbia earthquake: Spiritual warfare and battle fatigue

Posted on October 28, 2012May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

I was reading a weather report regarding Hurricane Sandy Frankenstorm. The CT Post calls it a “freakish and unprecedented monster.” This is the storm of mega-proportions that due to its combined elements of tropical storm, arctic nor’easter and unusual trajectory have made an historic storm of never-before-seen power. Millions will be affected by this Sunday-Tuesday with wind, rain, and snow. The impacts are expected to linger well into the weeks or even months. Power is expected to be out for days along the most populated segment of the nation: Washington DC to Boston Mass or even as far north as Portland, Maine. That is according to current weather analyses.

It seems that the storms have been coming one upon the other, almost. This is true for the entire globe, but especially true for America. It was a year ago May that the tornado outbreak at Joplin MO hit, wiping out the town and a good many other towns too. Then we had severe drought, wildfires, snow, derechos, floods and more in a non-stop train of disasters and storms. In addition, there have been thwarted terrorist attacks, mass shootings, Molotov cocktails, and unparallelled violence in Detroit and other cities. Then we had wars, cyberwars, and overseas involvement in successful and failed missions (Benghazi, anyone? WHO left them to DIE?).

People are weary. Just when we got over one set of disasters or near disasters, another one occurs that is worse. The Frankenstorm is a case in point.

I was reading an article about the coming storm that called it a hybrid, 800 mile storm set to impact millions and tens of millions of people. In the midst of the hubbub of the actual event, so large the mind can hardly contain what may be coming, one man’s tears moved me.

“Across the street, Douglas Jumper, whose first floor took on nearly 5 feet of water during Irene, was tying down his patio furniture on Friday and moving items in his wood shop to higher ground. “I’m tired. I am tired,” Jumper, who turns 58 on Saturday, said through tears. “We don’t need this again.”

What is happening in the world is a battle. It always has been a fight since the fall, but because we are close to the end the battle is more furious, more visible, and more potent against the humans who dwell on the earth.

Christians know we’re in a spiritual battle. Secular people don’t, but we do. Satan rages against God and against His children. God rages against sin. The Christian battles his own personal sin, and each of suffers from the effects of it and from the effect of others’ sins. It is a fight all the time. We must be constantly vigilant, (James 4:7) on guard (1 Peter 5:8) and wearing our armor. (Ephesians 6:10-17). Even having the Holy Spirit in us to energize us, it is a weary thing to always be on guard against a relentless and intelligent enemy bent on our destruction. Ask any soldier. (Illustration: artist unknown, Illustrator of Henry Davenport Northrop’s ‘Treasures of the Bible’, 1894)

The bible warns us against growing tired and losing heart.

“Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart.” (Galatians 6:9)

Notice the word IF. This says to me that it is possible to lose heart. The verse is talking about not getting tired of being kind and patient and loving. We become appalled at obstacles, disheartened at betrayals, grief-stricken over sin, and sometimes we just plain tire of the battle.

Jeremiah said in chapter 45:3 “You said, ‘Woe to me! The LORD has added sorrow to my pain; I am worn out with groaning and find no rest.'”

Imagine how hard it is for those people who do not have the Holy Spirit in them to help restrain their sin, grow in Christ-likeness, and in doing well to others. How is it for them who do not know Christ and wonder at the storms. I awaken this morning to news of a 7.7 quake in British Columbia (Mark 13:8) and a tsunami warning for Hawaii and small tsunami waves already hitting the American west coast. So both the east of America and the west are being pummeled.

The man from the article, Mr. Jumper, comes to mind. I do not know if he is saved or not, but his weariness just struck me. I can empathize. The battle against the worldly elements must seem insurmountable…one storm after another means that there is constant activity to protect, board, evacuate, adrenaline flowing, family members to be rounded up, cared for, evacuated. Then the waiting through the storms, never knowing if your home will even be there after it is all said and done. Then afterwards the constant activity expended to get back up and running, repairs, insurance calls, re-building….

And then it happens again. And then again.

We are told that the end time is like a woman giving birth. The long gestation began when Jesus ascended and will end when He returns in glory. As the pregnancy nears its bloody conclusion the discomfort grows as the pressure increases to unbearable levels. And when the labor pangs begin the pain only increases in frequency and intensity. The brief periods of respite between the pangs grow shorter in duration and soon before one can catch one’s breath the next pang comes crashing down. It is like that with the Frankenstorm and the major earthquake. And the Tribulation will be so much worse. We need more than ever to carry each other’s burdens. (Galatians 6:2).

Annie Vallotton, Gal 6:2

Without the Lord, I don’t know how people even cope. Perhaps they are not coping.

Battle fatigue:

Wikipedia explains, ‘Now called “Combat stress reaction (CSR), is a term used within the military to describe acute behavioral disorganization seen by medical personnel as a direct result of the trauma of war. Also known as “combat fatigue”, historically, it has some link to shell shock. Combat stress reaction is an acute reaction including a range of behaviours resulting from the stress of battle which decrease the combatant’s fighting efficiency. The most common symptoms are fatigue, slower reaction times, indecision, disconnection from one’s surroundings, and inability to prioritize.”

You can go here to look at the symptoms of combat fatigue, or see the chart below. Click to enlarge.

Satan brings disorder into our physical world by afflicting humans (Job 1-2; 2 Corinthians 12:7; Hebrews 2:14). The disorder is not just external but internal also. In my opinion I believe the symptoms many people are feeling, whether they know they are in a battle or not, are symptoms of battle fatigue.

Image from World War I taken in an Australian dressing station near Ypres in 1917. The wounded soldier in the lower left of the photo has a dazed thousand-yard stare, a frequent symptom of “shell-shock”. (Wikipedia)

Literally, I awaken each morning wondering what dread thing might have happened overnight. Is Damascus destroyed? The verses in Isaiah 17 say that it will happen suddenly. Destruction comes quickly, was there an earthquake? A volcanic explosion? The labor pangs are increasing to a degree where their effects cannot help but be felt in the world by the people. People are internalizing the stress of the economic times, the moral times, and the potential for natural disaster. These internalizations, fears, tragedies, worries have an effect on the mind and the body.

Franz von Stuck, “War,” c. 1894

The underlying root cause of all this is a spiritual battle over the deed to the earth. (Satan has already lost and our Savior owns the earth and everything in it (Revelation 5:5; Psalm 24:1), but satan refuses to believe that, so he presses on, and God lets Him, until the time is right for us to be taken up and the times to end.)

“Fret not yourself because of evildoers, and be not envious of the wicked, for the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.” (Proverbs 242:19-20)

Gill’s Exposition explains that verse so well: “For their calamity shall rise suddenly,…. And come upon those that fear not God, and rebel against the king and the state, and innovate in matters of religion; and especially that bring in damnable heresies, and, while they cry Peace, peace, and are pleasing themselves with their new schemes and prosperous success, swift and sudden destruction comes upon them.”

We rejoice in our Holy Savior who does these holy things. There will be much singing in heaven over His conquering of sin. But watching the world be warned and punished is HARD. And it has its effects. We are battle weary too! Those who do not have Jesus are even more battle weary. At least we know the time is short. They don’t know when this will ever end, and for many who do not heed the warnings, it never will.

Be aware that the spiritual battle of this world is taking its very real and physical toll on people. Brethren, do not grow weary. The writer of Hebrews said,

“not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:25).

I believe this is why: battle fatigue. Its effects are real. Do not grow weary. It is the last hour! The Lord is near, indeed, He is a very present help in times of trouble. (Psalm 46:1)

“but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

earthquake, prophecy, quake swarm

Scientists studying unusual quake swarm in SoCal

Posted on August 8, 2012 by elizabethprata

Here is the news about a quake cluster currently afflicting Southern California.

About 30 earthquakes strike in Southern California ‘sequence’
“A cluster of earthquakes that began Tuesday night continued Wednesday in northern Orange County, keeping residents on edge but causing little significant damage. … This is all part of the same earthquake sequence; they’re all in the same area,” Hutton told reporters at the briefing, which was televised by several TV stations. Experts said more aftershocks are likely. “It shook us pretty good. We’ve felt earthquakes before so it came as no surprise,” said Chris Nordyke, director of marketing at the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda.”

Southern Calif. shakes from small earthquakes
“Southern California was shaken Wednesday by the second moderate but widely felt earthquake in less than 11 hours, but no harm was reported. … It was a decent sized shake and it’s a reminder for everyone to have a plan for the Big One,” said Stone. “How would you and your family survive for 72 hours with no water, no food and no amenities? Think about it. It’s a reminder to go home and say, ‘What if?’ and make that plan.”

Making Sense of Earthquake Clusters

“In some cases, one earthquake reduces the probability of subsequent earthquakes; while in other cases, one earthquake might trigger other earthquakes, causing earthquake clusters. The difficulty for scientists, insurers and catastrophe modelers is in understanding the patterns. It is known that a big earthquake releases stress on the fault segment where the rupture occurs. Therefore, on the same fault, the probability of another earthquake has reduced greatly. In contrast, if a fault has not ruptured for a long time, the stress will accumulate and thus increase the probability of a quake. This phenomenon is known as earthquake time dependency, which means that the probability of the next earthquake is dependent on the time and magnitude of the last earthquake on the same fault. On the surface, earthquake clusters seem to be contrary to the theory of earthquake time dependency. If the stress is released, why would an earthquake trigger another? In fact, although the stress is released in the segment near the rupture, it can actually increase in other areas. In addition, if the precedent earthquake is small and unable to release the majority of stress on the fault, a subsequent earthquake can happen.” (source .pdf)

The scientists are studying this swarm. While they insist the swarm/cluster is far from extraordinary, they admit that a cluster like this has not happened for a few years.

Seismologists studying swarm of earthquakes in Southern California
“At a news conference Wednesday morning, Kate Hutton of the U.S. Geological Survey at Caltech said there had been at least 30 quakes since Tuesday night, but only three could be felt by residents. She said officials are studying the quakes to understand whether it was a swarm or some other type of pattern. “This is all part of the same earthquake sequence; they’re all in the same area,” Hutton told reporters at the briefing. “We haven’t had anything in the L.A. Basin in the last few years, but that doesn’t mean we’re totally quiet, and we certainly have been active in the southern part of the state,” she added.’

The scientists always minimize the potential or the situation or the effects…I suppose it is their job so as not to cause panic. But if they are studying it so swiftly then that’s something to note.

In the Tribulation, earthquakes will happen that no man has ever seen before. There will be the usual kind, just more of them that cause damage, and like birth pangs, one after another until there is overlap and one long bout of pain.

But then there will be other quakes, ‘mega quakes’ that destroy mountains, divide cities. The Greek word really is megas, meaning mega, or very large in the widest sense. It is used in the verse below to describe the last earthquake:

In Revelation 16:18-12 we read,

“And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake (megas seismos) such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found.”

That verse recounts the final judgment, when the angel pours out this one he says “It is done!” It is the seventh bowl, the last of the series of promised judgments. (7 Seals, 7 Trumpets, 7 Bowls).

Between the quakes of today to that last mega-quake of Revelation 16, earthquakes will only increase in frequency and intensity. Scientists can study them all they want, but by that last quake of human history, the only data that will matter is, are you saved by the blood of Jesus? Is your soul redeemed by the precious one who shed His blood for you?

As a matter of fact, it is the only data that matters now. Quakes aren’t going to subside, go away, or be only minor in intensity. They will increase until the Lord returns. The unnerving thing is not to know when the next quake will occur, but as a Christian, you know they will and more often, too. Non-Christians will wonder what’s going on but be just as surprised by the arrival of the earth-shattering commotion that we know as earthquakes as they will be by the earth and heaven shattering event and commotion that Jesus’s Second Coming will entail. Don’t be surprised. Accept Jesus as savior now, read the bible to see what’s ahead. What’s ahead for the Christian are blessings untold, the primary one being Jesus Himself.

earthquake, newfoundland

Newfoundland and Labrador experience unusual 4.4 quake

Posted on July 8, 2012May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Newfoundland and Labrador shaken with unusual 4.4 magnitude earthquake
“HAPPY VALLEY-GOOSE BAY, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador was hit with a 4.4 magnitude earthquake Sunday morning. A seismologist with Natural Resources Canada says the magnitude isn’t large enough to cause destruction, but it is significantly more than most earthquakes in the region. He says the earthquake hit around 8:13 a.m. local time along the Quebec-Labrador border, just south of Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Those in the immediate vicinity felt very strong shaking. Miners in Labrador City said the earthquake felt like a regular mine blast. Natural Resources Canada says the last time an earthquake of this size hit the province was 50 years ago.’ “

USGS source

Newfoundland and Labrador have had numerous small quakes, but one of that size is unusual. “While earthquake activity isn’t unusual for this particular region of Labrador, Department of Natural Resources Seismologist Stephen Halchuk says a tremor that size hasn’t been recorded in 50 years.”

earthquake, end time, indonesia

Is God speaking through the Indonesian earthquakes?

Posted on April 11, 2012May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Today there have been two mega-quakes in Indonesia, with major aftershocks. They occurred in the same place the terrible 2004 quake occurred, near Banda Aceh, which sparked a tsunami that killed almost a quarter million people. Thankfully today, no one has yet been reported killed (a miracle in itself!) but tsunami warnings went up in over a dozen nations almost immediately. Later it was discovered that the were not the kind of quakes that cause tsunamis. By this afternoon, the warnings had been lifted.

Three weeks ago, after a large earthquake in Mexico, I posted information about the Mexican quake and also looked at the bigger picture by asking ‘are there more quakes?’ Jesus said in Matthew 24:7 that as a sign of His soon coming there would be earthquakes in diverse places, and He also said in the next verse that the time would be like birth pangs. It is generally understood that because birthpangs increase in intensity and frequency as the birth gets closer that the signs He listed would also increase in the same manner. In that essay I posted a chart. I searched the USGS database for quakes in each of the large quake magnitudes, year by year. I plotted the results. I compared them against the annual average the USGS uses as a benchmark. Voila, here is the result:

Given that the number of earthquakes are rising, what is the percentage change? Here is the percentage change in 2011 over the annual average number of quakes USGS says we can expect:

5.0-5.9 mag: 72% UP
6.0-6.9 mag: 38% UP
7.0-7.9 mag: 36% UP
8.0-9.0 mag: 0% change

Percentage change in 2012 so far:
8.0-9.0 mag: 100% UP

People are curious about the connection to the end times and earthquakes. Many people wonder, is there a connection? Is there a Godly purpose to earthquakes? Yes. Yes there is.

God has used earthquakes for several reasons. Here are just a few. In the Old Testament, Mount Sinai ‘trembled violently’ before God spoke to Moses. (Exodus 19:18).

God used an earthquake to demonstrate the outcome of rebellion against Him. The ground opened, swallowing Korah and his men. (Numbers 16:31-32).

God used an earthquake to show that despite His power to create an earthquake, Elijah could also hear Him in the still, small voice. (I Kings 19:11).

The great earthquake at the time of King Uzziah was spoken of by Amos. Uzziah had grown insolent and haughty. The LORD used the earthquake to remind the king of the LORD’S power. That one was a judgment quake.

In Matthew 24:7 Jesus told His disciples (and us) that in the last days there would be earthquakes in various places as one of the signs of His coming. (Mt 24:7).

In Matthew 27:51-54 when Jesus died on the cross a great earthquake occurred, splitting the Temple veil in two and resurrecting many saints from their graves. This was a vivid demonstration of His power, and as a witness to the truth that Jesus is His Son.

In Revelation, quakes are mentioned 7 times. In Revelation 11, when the Two Witnesses are resurrected, “In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.” (Rev 11:13). He will use that future quake to show His glory and many will respond.

In today’s twin 8.0-plus quakes, The UK Daily Mail reports, “In the Indonesian city of Banda Aceh, terrified residents screamed ‘God is great!’ as they jumped into cars and the backs of motorcycles, clogging streets as they fled to high ground.” I hope that of those who yelled God is great that they were speaking of the One True God and that they repented of their sins and sought Jesus as Savior.

An anonymous commenter posted on the previous blog essay about earthquakes, the following wisdom:

“God uses these things to calls us back to him…the Lord continues to come after us. He will keep reaching toward us all, to save us all. It will become more and more clear, and the choice will become very clear. Recently I had a young man who found out how evil music has become. He went away from it, and then made the clear decision to stay with it, evil or not. He made a clear decision. I think that the Lord will use things and people, so we make a clear choice. No more waffling, no more half-measures…either you are with the Lord, or you are not…”

As the LORD said to Ezekiel about His messages, “As for them, whether they listen or not– for they are a rebellious house– they will know that a prophet has been among them.” (Ez 2:5). By the end of time at the Judgment Seat, no one will be able to say that God didn’t use use various means to warn them. However, not all will make the choice to respond to His messages, whether they are bible verses, a sermon, an earthquake, or the still small voice of the Spirit. I believe the commenter is right. We are rapidly approaching the time when the entire world will have made the choice yea or nay. By the time Revelation 13 arrives, all the world will have either taken the mark of the beast and thus are condemned, (Rev 14:9) or will have chosen Christ – and be martyred in this life (Rev 20:4). By Revelation 13 it will be one, or the other. No middle ground. In the Tribulation, a person must declare for one or the other. There will be no atheism. No person saying ‘I believe what I believe, it’s private’. There will be no Islam. No Catholics. No Pope. There will only be people who are forced to take the mark to worship the beast and its image, bowing down to it (Rev 13:15-16), and people who refuse because they love Jesus. At the very end, there will be a clear choice.

The middle ground is rapidly shrinking even now, prior to the Tribulation. People are becoming entrenched in their views, for or against Jesus. Are you with the One True God, the God who shakes the world? Or are you not? Time is drawing to a close, possibly through death with the choice taken away from you and your final fate sealed forever. Or you may live on a while longer, waffling until after the rapture, when coming to the Lord will be hard and nearly impossible, only to end up facing the most evil beast there ever was. Please heed to the signs now. “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.” (Matthew 24:32-33).

earthquake, prophecy, sky noises, wisconsin town rattling

Something’s rattling Wisconsin town

Posted on March 19, 2012 by elizabethprata

Last Thursday I’d posted an essay titled “Strange boom heard in GA, spiritual warfare ramping up?” In that essay I explored the news of strange sky booms, rattles, rumbles, and clanks repeatedly being reported worldwide.

In addition, one year ago, on March 18, 2011, I’d reported a shaking in a Florida town that felt like an earthquake, but was not. It is yet another phenomenon that has been reported off and on, the ground shakes but seismologists say their instruments don’t indicate seismic activity. The first paragraph of that story says,

“Investigators are trying to solve a bizarre mystery in Flagler County. A wave of people called 911 around 9:30am Friday to report the ground shaking in Flagler County. The calls all came from the Hammock area of Palm Coast (see map). However, people in the north Daytona area, as well as in Deltona and as far north as St. Augustine, said they felt it as well. Many people were worried that the shaking was an earthquake.”

This happened in other places too, but the FL shaking was representative of the kind of incidents that have been occurring. Of course, we haven’t even mentioned the sinkholes, sinkholes, and more sinkholes, and the earth cracks that have been appearing regularly, too. It seems that above and below, weird things are happening that freak out the people who experience them and puzzle the officials charged with explaining them.

Now today a story being reported by CNN is titled “Something’s rattling small Wisconsin town“
Mysterious explosions. Unexplained shaking. Something’s going on in Clintonville, Wisconsin, but nobody seems to know what it is. The sounds — variously described as rattling pipes, clanging metal, thunder or firecrackers — have continued on and off since early Sunday night in just one part of the small town of 4,600, located about 180 miles northeast of Madison. Accompanying the sounds are vibrations that have shaken homes and household objects in the northeast corner of town, city manager Lisa Kuss said. The sounds were loud enough Monday morning that a CNN journalist could hear them during a cell phone conversation with Kuss.”

Workers have examined all the likely candidates, to breaking pipes to rattling gas or water bubbles to improperly sized manhole covers…and the USGS has said that it wasn’t seismic activity either.

Major quake at Vanuatu, and earthquake data for you

Posted on August 20, 2011May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

There was an earthquake at Vanuatu on Saturday afternoon 1:00 pm local time. Its magnitude is classified as 7.5. Vanuatu is in the southern Pacific halfway between Fiji to its east and Queensland Australia to its west.

Any quake over 7.0 magnitude is considered ‘major’. On average, the USGS states that we can expect about 15 quakes of that magnitude each year. So far in 2011, the world has had 11 quakes of that magnitude. It is my estimate that due to the rate of strong and major quakes’ occurrence over these last five years (with those averages being regularly exceeded), the average will once again be exceeded this year as well.

As a matter of fact, the average amount of quakes in the 6.0-6.9 range is 134 and we have already had 140 so far this year in that magnitude, thus crushing the USGS average once again. In short, earthquakes are on the rise. Let’s take a look at the facts:
Source: USGS (United States Geological Survey) Where annual averages are met or exceeded the number is in red.
Magnitude / Average Annually
8+ = 1 (in 2011 we have had 1)
7 – 7.9 = 15 (in 2011 we have had 11)
6 – 6.9 = 134 (in 2011 we have had 140)
5 – 5.9 = 1319 (in 2011 we have had 1697)

Frequency of Occurrence of Earthquakes

¹ Based on observations since 1900.
These numbers have been recently updated, based on data from the Centennial catalog (from 1900 to 1999) and the PDE (since 2000).
² Based on observations since 1990.

So the USGS even updated the averages and STILL are they exceeded annually. Here is a chart I generated and updated today through Aug 20. Source USGS data.

Earthquakes have long been one of the ways God gets our attention. “An earthquake is a great teacher. It doesn’t make any suggestions; it’s making commands. It doesn’t ask for our attention, it demands it. It doesn’t just hope we’ll contemplate and act, it brings about almost instant obedience.” (source).

God is in complete control. The bible teaches that everything that happens is under His control. Nothing that happens, happens without His permission, knowledge, and sovereign plan. Satan cannot make an earthquake. But God can. All that He does is for the good.

For the Christian, we know that our eternal destiny is settled. If we die in an earthquake, it is to the good, for we will be with Him. If we do not die in an earthquake, than nothing that we have lost is of eternal value. Our possessions? We won’t need them in heaven. Our health (if we are injured in a quake) will be restored. Since we live on the earth, we are flesh and therefore not impervious to sin’s effects nor remain untainted by calamity. But what we lose is nothing. Enduring a disaster means we have an opportunity to become dependent on God. That is always a good thing because He is the source of all good things. We can fellowship with the afflicted. We can grow and mature through hardship.

If a person is not saved and endures an earthquake, they learn that life is fragile. They learn that the time to settle the earthly accounts and eternal destiny is now. Also, though living in a place where quakes are common means likely that there are strong codes for buildings, there are limits to how far one can go to protect one’s self from calamity. If a quake is big enough, the place will be razed, codes or no codes. Witness Japan. Life is fragile and there is nothing like an earthquake to reveal that to puny humans.

All this to say, that though earthquakes are in the rise and will continue to be so (Luke 21:11, Rev 6:12, Rev 8:5, Rev 11:13, Rev 16:18), the saved should fear not. That link is to a search result where ‘fear not’ is stated 63 times. There are many more ways He tells us not to fear, just not in that particular phrase. Therefore, we should not fear.

“Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not.” (Lamentations 3:57)
Tweet http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js http://www.facebook.com/widgets/like.php?href=http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2011/08/major-quake-at-vanuatu-and-earthquake.html

http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=xa-4df8df7d18b59150

earthquake, eritrea, ethiopia

Eritrea/Ethiopia earthquakes: unusual swarm going on!

Posted on June 12, 2011May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

June 13: COMPLETE UPDATE HERE, with confirmation of volcanic eruption

————————————————————
Six months ago, I wrote about unusual seismic activity in Ethiopia area. There were earthquakes were there aren’t usually any, there was indications of a volcanic eruption, and the African rift was unzipping at the seams. That blog entry is here. Maps and pictures accompany that blog entry.

In part, I’d written:

Man’s understanding is in some cases wise, and in other cases miraculous, but in other cases poor and meager. The earth is not millions of years old and plates can shift apart in a matter of days, or even in a moment. How do I know this to the point of contradicting decades of general scientific understanding? Because in the Tribulation, massive geophysical changes will occur in moments, and the world will indeed split apart quickly. “The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is thoroughly shaken.” (Isaiah 24:19). “The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.” (Rev 6:19). Jesus controls all judgments and He will judge the earth, and He won’t take millions of years to do it.

At the Horn of Africa last month, an earthquake swarm at Yemen caused alarm. The swarm was situated at the opening to the Red Sea at the Gulf of Aden, and seemed to be an unusual place for seismic activity. According to the history of the area, at USGS, the Yemen-Gulf of Aden-Djibouti area IS seismic, but in a minor way. Between 1950 through yesterday this area had 56 earthquakes ranging between mag 4.0-5.9. There were no quakes greater than mag 5.9 during that date range. Now there have been 31 (as of 1:00pm), which is 2/3 as many as in the last sixty years. This is statistically significant, as well as prophetically interesting. (Mark 13:8)

And in a third piece of interesting news from that area, not only have there been unusual geophysical changes occurring in rifts suddenly opening, and unusual earthquake activity that has never been replicated historically, but today at the other end of the rift, a 5.1 mag earthquake occurred in Ethiopia.

I urge you to read the previous entry about the ongoing, different seismic activity in that area. Today, there have been a series of moderate earthquakes again in that region, the Eritrea/Ethiopia border. These quakes are near the Nabro Volcano. Nabro never has been recorded to have erupted. It is a very large volcano. This swarm is encircling the mountain and to me appears to be volcanic in nature, but I’m no seismologist! All I know is this activity is unusual.

Location of the quake swarm at Ethiopia/Eritrea. Source US Geological Survey, as of 7pm Sunday June 12.

4.5 ERITREA – ETHIOPIA REGION

5.7 ERITREA – ETHIOPIA REGION

4.8 ERITREA – ETHIOPIA REGION

4.7 ERITREA – ETHIOPIA REGION

5.0 ETHIOPIA

4.5 ETHIOPIA

4.7 ERITREA – ETHIOPIA REGION

4.8 ERITREA – ETHIOPIA REGION

4.3 ERITREA – ETHIOPIA REGION

4.8 ERITREA – ETHIOPIA REGION

4.7 ERITREA – ETHIOPIA REGION

4.5 ERITREA – ETHIOPIA REGION

5.1 ERITREA – ETHIOPIA REGION

BNO News reported on it just now, “…a total of 14 light to moderate earthquakes in the border area on Sunday evening, with the strongest being two 5.7-magnitude earthquakes which were both centered in Eritrea.”

Tweet http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
http://www.facebook.com/widgets/like.php?href=http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2011/06/eritreaethiopia-earthquakes-unusual.html

bendandi, bible, earthquake, rome

Raffaele Bendandi earthquake predictions: Rome citizens are fleeing the big one

Posted on May 10, 2011 by elizabethprata

Some guy almost 100 years ago predicts a quake will level Rome on May 11, 2011 and today the city residents are fleeing. They believe.

Italians evacuate Rome over ‘big one’ fears
Italians will on Wednesday flee Rome over fears a giant earthquake is coming following a seismologist’s 1915 prediction that “the big one” will strike on May 11, 2011.

“Businesses have reported requests from one in five people to have time off work and many are also keeping children away from school and heading to the beach or country for the day. Romans are taking it so seriously that local newspapers have even been publishing survival guides with tips of what to do – if – the ground starts to tremble. The panic has been fanned by Facebook, Twitter and text messages around a prediction by Raffaele Bendandi, a seismologist who forecast in 1915 that a “big one” would hit Rome on Wednesday. He is also said to have predicted other earthquakes which hit Italy during the last hundred years before his death in 1979. Massimo La Rocca, headmaster of a school in the Trastevere district, said: “We have had quite a few parents calling in and saying they will not be sending their children in.”

“I’ve told them the school will remain open and there is nothing to be scared about but they are adamant – although this is not a justifiable absence for a pupil.”

“A barman named Massimo said: “People have been talking about this for the last week. I know dozens who are taking the day off – I’m going to sleep in the camper van with the wife to be on the safe side.” Bendandi believed movement of plates and therefore earthquakes were the result of the combined movements of the planets, the moon and the sun and perfectly predictable. In 1923 he predicted a quake would hit central Italy on January 2 the following year – he was wrong by two days. For his work Bendandi was even given a knighthood by Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini – and ordered not to make any more predictions on pain of exile as officials feared he would create immense panic. However seismologists have been quick to step in and say his theories are without any scientific proof and despite his claims earthquakes are completely unpredictable. Seismologist Alessandro Amato, who works at the Italy’s National Geophysical and Volcanology Institute, said: “There is absolutely no evidence to say that an earthquake will hit Rome on 11th May and we have told that to the hundreds of people who have called.”

Bendandi was wrong lots of times but the world will go after a false prophet rather than the true Prophet who was NEVER wrong and has been proven over and over. O come Lord Jesus!

I fully admit that if a quake hits Rome tomorrow that it will be totally ironic but also a total coincidence. For those who insist on objective evidence and ignoring the bible because it supposedly has none, I remind you that Bendandi developed his own unscientific theory, without any objective evidence, of the nature of earthquakes and the alleged causes that determine them. His studies and his predictions are considered invalid empirical and theoretical justification from the scientific community.

The only reliable predictor for prophecy is the One who delivered it: Jesus in the bible. If the quake does not hit I challenge readers to allow the bible as the standard for prophecy. If the quake does hit tomorrow I still challenge readers to seek the bible as the only barometer of truth and only reliable predictor 100% of what is to come.

If only the world would take the bible as seriously as they do some unscientific guy who was wrong half the time!!

Tweet http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

earthquake, end time, prophecy, repent

Holy Fear: The Great Earthquake, Part 3

Posted on March 13, 2011 by elizabethprata

Read Part 1 here
Read Part 2 here

“The earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because He was wroth.” (Psalm 18:7).

The USGS essay regarding the historical New England earthquake of 1727 and its aftermath continues:

“The people of New England were affected by this earthquake as they had never been before, being fearful of divine judgments for their sins and lax responsiveness to the call to religious duties. The clergy taught them that it was “a loud call to the whole land to repent and fear and give glory to God.” The next morning great numbers of the inhabitants of Boston gathered at the old North church for prayer and other religious services. The fear of further immediate danger was somewhat dispelled in the pleasant sunlight, but as soon as the sun had set their fright returned, and in greater numbers than in the morning the people crowded to the old Brick church, which could not hold them. The old South was then opened, and those who failed of admission to the Brick church flocked thither, and that was also filled. Rev. Thomas Paine of Weymouth, Mass., and some other ministers, tried to prove to their congregations that the earthquake had not a natural cause, but was a supernatural token of God’s anger to the sinful world.”

“The selectmen of Medford, Mass., appointed the next Wednesday as a day to be observed by fasting and prayer on account of the earthquake; and Lieutenant-governor Dummer recommended that Thursday should be kept in the same way for the same purpose throughout the province. Many sermons delivered on the latter and other days were printed and are still extant. In Salem, Mass., a meeting was held on Saturday at the upper meeting-house (then so called) which was attended by the largest congregation that was ever in that edifice.”

They repented, the fasted, they prayed, and they entreated. The people fell down before a mighty God and supplicated in proper Holy Fear.

In his sermon “A Holy Fear of God and His Judgments” John Cotton defined Holy Fear:

–Trembling for fear of God implies our solemn an awful apprehensions of the great God, who brings such judgments upon us

–Trembling for fear of God means that we are sensibly touched and affected with the consideration of the judgments that are or may yet be brought upon us.

–Trembling for fear of God means our humbling ourselves exceedingly before Him who is thus visiting and threatening us.

Do we tremble? Rarely. We strut, we dismiss, we forget the power He wields, and holds back. Holy Fear, repentance, and awe of His majesty are not popular topics today. Prosperity, ecstatic experiences, all paths leading to heaven are the topics of today, when the bible is even referred to at all.

After a 9.0 quake, tsunami, and four volcanoes exploding, what should we ALL be doing? Repenting. Falling down on our faces. As Rev Cotton said, “It suggests that we so abhor them [judgments] that they make deep impressions upon our hearts; that our spirits are so sorrowfully affected with the tokens of the divine anger visible therein that we weep bitterly in secret places in the consideration thereof. Indeed, they have the power to make us cry out, “Oh that my head were waters, and mines eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night” (Jeremiah 9:1).”

We do not weep day and night for our own sins, faults, and failures. We do not weep for neglecting to give glory to God. We do not react thus: “When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice; rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself.” (Habakkuk 3:16).

We shake our heads at the poor folks way over in Japan, and we move on. We do not do the first and proper thing: repent. I am not talking to only non-believers. I am talking to believers who have forgotten what it means to be a sinner falling into the hands of an angry God.

Why are not the churches in America full today? Why are not people weeping at altars, seeking forgiveness? Do we evidence a Holy Fear? No, we talk of prosperity with a flashy smile. As the USGS essay concludes, “Seriousness was the expression on the faces of most of the people, and in some towns, large numbers were added to the church. In the parish of Chebacco in Ipswich, Mass., for instance seventy-six persons became church members. The earthquake had its effect upon some licentious characters, who became truly reformed, and afterward led honorable and moral lives.”

Rev Cotton finishes, “Oh, what need we have then to cry mightily unto God that He will make the impressions lasting on the souls of parents, children, young, old, rich, poor, bond and free! We have done it already. We will continue to do it, and we hope the Lord will not turn away our prayers nor His mercy from us.” Will the dreadful impressions of God after the Japan quake last in you? I hope so.
Give glory to God for His power. Give glory to Jesus by living an honorable and moral life in Him.
Tweet http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js