While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labour pains
on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 1 Thessalonians 5:3 (NIV)

Earthquakes, tidal waves, volcanic eruptions, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, ice storms, and the like, are contractions warning us of greater pain yet to come. The movement of the tectonic plates are the Braxton Hicks of our planet. The December 2004 tsunami in Asia that brought death and destruction on a massive scale was nothing compared to what’s going to be delivered in the future.

Now you may think I’m an alarmist by saying such things but according to the testimony of God’s Word I’m a realist. The Bible clearly teaches that the world as we know it is coming to an end. The history of the human race had a beginning and has an end. We don’t know the day or the hour, but the Lord Jesus Christ is going to come again, catch up all true believers into heaven, and usher in seven years of tribulation unlike anything this world has ever seen or known.

Those left behind after Christ’s return won’t be spared. People will be afflicted with ulcerated, inflamed and puss filled sores. The sea, the rivers, lakes and springs will turn the colour of blood and every living thing in them will die. This will be followed by a scorching searing heat. Darkness and pain will then engulf the earth and shortly thereafter the mother of all battles in the Middle East, Armageddon, with blood flowing as deep as a horses bridle over an area of about 300 km’s. To cap it off, the greatest earthquake of all time will destroy the cities and huge hailstones weighing 40 kg’s each will rain down to complete the destruction (cf. Revelation 16:1-21).

God’s grace and mercy will not continue indefinitely. His wrath is yet to come. The extreme climatic and violent geological disturbances we’re presently experiencing are the warning signs. But you don’t need to live in fear. God doesn’t want anyone to perish (cf. 2 Peter 3:9). “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” Romans 10:9.