February 2001 Vol.4, No. 2

Contents Quake in Gujarat: Foretaste of the Future?    by Matthew Fenchel Germany and Russia-Shifting Balance of Power    by Melvin Rhodes When the Angel Leaves the Storm    by Darris McNeely In Brief...World News Review    by Cecil E. Maranville This is the Way...Sharing the Front Porch    by Robin Webber Quake in Gujarat: Foretaste of the Future? Most of us viewed the deadly quake in India from the comfort of our living rooms. What would we do if we had to experience such a disaster? The Indian victims had no warning. We do... by Matthew Fenchel Modern technology has again brought a crisis into our homes in real time and in living color. Perhaps you first saw scenes of the tragedy in India on the television in your living room. Or maybe you read an Internet report on your office computer. You could have heard a radio report, as you drove along a safe, modern highway. Or perhaps you read of it in your local paper over coffee and breakfast. In any case, you were probably warm, comfortable and safe-wherever you heard the news. Digging through the rubble of an earthquake Coincidentally, I was in India at the time of the quake-but, fortunately, 800 miles from the epicenter. So I, too, was warm, comfortable and safe. Like you, I only experienced the horrors of this disaster through the desensitizing filters of electronic media. From a distance you can find a little comfort in the fact that various national governments and independent relief organizations were marshaling their forces to provide assistance. What if, though, everything I described were reversed? Instead of most of us watching the events on television in comfort, what if most of us were experiencing the agony of a disaster? What if those nations that are now rushing to provide help were the ones in need of it? What if we could not turn off the sights and sounds of horror with a flick of a switch? Could that happen? And what would we do? Would there be anything we could do? This was my first trip to India. I had lived in Europe for six years, and had seen some poverty in the countries then under communist rule. I had also seen various documentaries about the conditions in India. Yet no amount of video clips could have prepared me for the wretched conditions I saw firsthand in Bombay. There were miles of shanties, pollution of every sort and tens of thousands of suffering fellow human beings. And this city wasn't even hit by the earthquake! A few minutes of television is nothing like seeing, hearing, feeling and smelling such horrors in person. I know the same could be said about the difference between viewing the effects of a tragedy and experiencing it firsthand. Wrong to assume disaster always "hand of God" Why do natural disasters, disease epidemics and other tragedies strike certain places, while leaving others unscathed? Are there lessons to be learned? Certainly scientists have provided some geological, social and climatic reasons. Some in the world of religion wonder if it is the hand of God at work, punishing the wicked. Or perhaps earthquakes such as just struck India and El Salvador are the first indicators of the "end of the world." What does the Bible say? The disciples asked Jesus Christ about signs of His return, the time the Bible calls the Day of the Lord. In Matthew 24:6-8, He said, "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows." On one hand, disasters and tragedies are regular events that come and go over the centuries. In some cases, of course, they are the result of human "cause and effect." Galatians 6:6-8 tells us that if we do wrong, we will reap disaster. If we do right, blessings will come. This is true for whole societies, as well as for individuals. Christ warned us, though, not to become too comfortable, confident or cocky if such tragedies don't happen to us. The lack of natural disasters is not necessarily proof of righteousness. In Luke 13:1-5, Jesus warned all humans to repent, or face the consequences. "There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, 'Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.'" That should be a lesson for us, today. Punishment and destruction can happen to us. What would we do? How to avoid divine punishment Man's long history of disobedience to God will eventually result in a time when all will suffer unimaginable horrors, a period that the world has never experienced. In Matthew 24:21-22, Christ continues, "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened." Because of the righteousness of those who obey God, Jesus will return and eventually stop the destruction. His second coming will certainly be good news for those who follow Him-but not for the vast majority of human beings who don't. In verses 29 and 30, He says, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." Amos, an Old Testament prophet, was inspired to warn those who would hear that God's intervention in human affairs would be unmistakable. One will not have to wonder or speculate if a localized disaster signals the end. The extent, force and unrelenting duration of catastrophes will make the truth self-evident. Amos 5:18 states, "Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! For what good is the day of the LORD to you? It will be darkness, and not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him! Or as though he went into the house, leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him!" The wealthy Western nations remain relatively unscathed-for now. That will not long be the case. Isaiah 2 gives a sobering and frightening scenario of rich nations, descendants of ancient Israel, that will not be able to rely on their wealth in the Day of the Lord. Verses 11 to 21 read in part, "The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the LORD of hosts shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up-and it shall be brought low. Upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up; upon every high tower, and upon every fortified wall; upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all the beautiful sloops. "The LORD alone will be exalted in that day, but the idols He shall utterly abolish. They shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, from the terror of the LORD and the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily. In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which they made, each for himself to worship, to the moles and bats, to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the crags of the rugged rocks, from the terror of the LORD and the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily." Another reference in Isaiah reads like a firsthand description of the recent devastating earthquakes. Survivors in the Indian quake zone wander about with a dispirited, unbelieving gaze in their eyes. That's a glimpse of what will strike the descendants of Israel-living today in the comfort and safety of the Western world. Isaiah's words are similar to Christ's words quoted above: "Wail, for the day of the LORD is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Therefore all hands will be limp, every man's heart will melt, and they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; they will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; they will be amazed at one another; their faces will be like flames. "Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He will destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be darkened in its going forth, and the moon will not cause its light to shine. I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold" (Isaiah 13:6-12). Tragedy will strike "safe" sectors of earth The time is indeed coming when tragedies like the one that happened in India will be on our doorstep. We will not simply be able to "change the channel" to a better picture. Our material wealth will not save us, nor will our insurance companies enable us to rebuild. No nation will come to our aid. What will we do? Jesus Christ said there is only one thing to do: repent. Joel 2 describes the time of God's anger, and what humans should do. Verses 12-14 say, "'Now, therefore,' says the LORD, 'Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.' So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn and relent?" Right now, distance shields us from the effects of most disasters. Besides giving monetary support, there is little we can do to help. It would be a real tragedy, though, if we ignorantly assumed that we will always enjoy such isolation. Experiencing suffering is a whole lot more agonizing than seeing a few pictures of it in wealthy comfort. Could such calamities really happen on a worldwide scale? And what would or could we do if they did? Jesus Christ said they would happen. He also said what we should do. Unlike the victims in India, we have an advance warning. If we heed it, if we repent, a way of escape is possible. wnp

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