GREATEST EARTHQUAKES OF THE BIBLE

Greatest Earthquakes of the Bible

by Steven A. Austin, Ph.D. *

Evidence for Creation

The Holy Land is a region where earthquakes occur frequently. By one means or another, big earthquakes have been documented in the Holy Land for a period exceeding 4,000 years.¹ Many are known from history and literature, especially the Bible. Holy Land earthquakes are also evidenced from archaeological excavations. No other region of the earth has such a long and well-documented chronology of big earthquakes.

Recently, geologists have investigated the 4,000-year chronology of earthquake disturbances within the uppermost 19 feet of laminated sediment of the Dead Sea.² Hypersaline waters preserve seasonally laminated sediment because organisms cannot live or burrow in the bed of the lake. As a result, only a nearby earthquake (or very large distant earthquake) can homogenize the lake’s uppermost sediment layers, producing a “mixed layer” devoid of laminations.³ A sketch of a sediment core from the west side of the Dead Sea appears in Figure 1. The sketch shows the depth of the “mixed layers” within the laminated sediment sequence.⁴ Two deeper mixed layers in the Dead Sea are datable from historical, archaeological, and geological associations with faulting—the earthquakes of 31 B.C. (the Qumran earthquake) and 750 B.C. (Amos’ earthquake). Other earthquakes are represented in the Dead Sea sediment core with dates approximated by assuming a steady rate of sedimentation.
Consider 17 of the most important earthquakes that relate to the Bible. The earthquakes are listed in chronological order. We begin with creation and go through to the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
1. Day Three of Creation Week
On the third day of the creation week, the waters of the earth were collected into the oceanic basins as continents appeared (Genesis 1:9-10). Before Day Three, the waters had been over the whole earth. Continents seem to have been uplifted and the ocean floor was depressed during a great faulting process that established the “foundations of the earth.” We are told that angels saw and praised the omnipotent God as the earth-shaking process occurred (Job 38:4-7; Psalm 148:1-6; possibly Psalm 104:5-6). Today, the earth’s continental crust (41 percent of the earth’s surface, including the continental shelves) has an average elevation of 2,000 feet above sea level, whereas the oceanic crust (59 percent of the earth’s surface, excluding the continental shelves) has an average elevation of 13,000 feet below sea level. Can anyone properly comprehend the colossal upheaval that formed continental crust on Day Three? Angels must have watched in awe!
2. Noah’s Flood
The year-long, global Flood in the days of Noah was the greatest sedimentary and tectonic event in the history of our planet since creation (see Genesis 6-9). One of the primary physical causes of this great judgment was the “fountains of the great deep,” all of which were “broken up” on a single day (Genesis 7:11). The verb for “broken up” (Hebrew baqa) means to split or cleave and indicates the faulting process (Numbers 16:31; Psalm 78:15; Isaiah 48:21; Micah 1:4; Zechariah 14:4). The enormous upheaval (probably associated with faulting of seafloor springs) unleashed a year-long global flood. God’s purpose was to begin the human race again from the family of Noah.
3. Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
A disaster called an “overthrow” was delivered in about 2050 B.C. on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24-28). That event was so spectacular, swift, and complete that it became proverbial for the severity of judgment that God’s righteous anger could deliver.⁵ Jesus spoke “woes” exceeding those spoken against Sodom and Gomorrah on Galilean cities that rejected His teaching (Matthew 10:15; 11:23-24; Luke 10:12). The swiftness of Sodom’s judgment was used by Jesus to illustrate how sudden His return will be (Luke 17:28-30).
Of the five “cities of the plain” (Genesis 13:12; 14:8), only Zoar is described as surviving the catastrophe. Zoar is the site to which Lot and his family fled with the approval of the angels (Genesis 19:20-23). As a city, it flourished through the time of Moses and the kings of Israel, even being described as a city of the region of Moab by the prophets.⁶ Arab historians in the Middle Ages refer to Zoar and identify the city as modern Safi southeast of the Dead Sea in Jordan. Because Lot and his family made the journey by foot in just a few hours (Genesis 19:15, 23), Sodom must be less than about 20 miles from Zoar (modern Safi). Two Early Bronze Age archaeological sites southeast of the Dead Sea (Bab edh-Dhra and Numeira) reveal evidence of catastrophic collapse and burning along the eastern border fault of the Dead Sea Transform Fault. These two sites are likely the remains of Sodom and Gomorrah.⁷ A thick disturbed zone within the Dead Sea sediment core, assignable to the Sodom and Gomorrah event, occurs at a depth of about 18.5 feet.
4. Moses on Sinai
Before God spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai and gave the Ten Commandments, a great shaking of the mountain occurred (Exodus 19:18). No doubt the earthquake prepared both Moses and Israel for the important truths the Lord was going to communicate. This awesome shaking event continues to be remembered in the New Testament as the context for God’s delivery of His Law (Hebrews 12:18-21).
5. Korah’s Rebellion in the Wilderness
A crisis of leadership developed among the children of Israel in the wilderness (Numbers 16:1-40). Korah and all his men were killed and their possessions taken, as the land on which they were camped split apart and closed back upon them (Numbers 16:31-33). God destroyed them because they rebelled against Him.
6. The Fall of Jericho
The wall of the fortified city of Jericho collapsed suddenly after the Israelites marched around the city seven times (Joshua 6). The biblical account does not specifically mention an earthquake, but the earth would have been shaken by the wall’s collapse. Archaeological excavations at Jericho confirm that the massive wall made of mud bricks did collapse at the time of the conquest, about 1400 B.C. The site of the ancient city of Jericho sits directly on top of a very large fault associated with the Jordan Rift Valley. Surprisingly, the Dead Sea sediment core has a distinctive mixed sediment layer at a depth of 15.1 feet that is evidence of a big earthquake at about 1400 B.C.
7. Philistine Camp near Geba
Israel conquered the Philistines near Geba after an earthquake occurred in their camp (1 Samuel 14:15). Jonathan and his armor bearer were separated from their army and would otherwise have been killed by the Philistines. Is this event at 1010 B.C. seen in the thinner “mixed layer” within the Dead Sea sediment core at a depth of 13.5 feet?
8. Elijah on Mount Horeb
God spoke to Elijah at Mount Sinai (Horeb) as He did before to Moses after the occurrence of an earthquake (1 Kings 19:11). Elijah, who had been hiding in a cave, realized that the Lord does not need to use a mighty earthquake to speak, but can, in His meekness, reveal Himself simply in a “still, small voice.”
9. Amos’ Earthquake of 750 B.C.
The prophet Amos predicted the “Day of the Lord” (Amos 5:18-20) and a great earthquake (1:1; 2:13; 3:14-15; 6:11; 8:8; 9:1, 5). When the magnitude 8.2 earthquake occurred two years later in 750 B.C., Amos was propelled to notoriety as the earliest writing prophet at the time of the explosive emergence in Israel of writing prophets. Other prophets that lived through the big earthquake wrote about “the Day of the Lord” and earthquakes (Isaiah 2:10-21; 5:25; Micah 1:3-6). Archaeological excavations at numerous Iron Age cities show earthquake destruction debris at layers assigned to the middle of the eighth century B.C.⁸ Dead Sea sediment cores indicate a persistent, two-inch-thick earthquake-disturbed layer at a depth of about 12 feet in the floor of the lake. Analysis of the damage regionally indicates Richter magnitude 8.2 with the epicenter in Lebanon. That makes Amos’ earthquake the largest yet documented in the Holy Land in the last 4,000 years.
10. Qumran Earthquake of 31 B.C.
About sixty years before the ministry of Christ, a small group of Levites copied Scripture onto scrolls at the small village of Qumran in the desert northwest of the Dead Sea. In 31 B.C., a large earthquake occurred along the Jericho Fault on the western side of the Dead Sea. The earthquake dried up Qumran’s main spring and severely cracked the architecture. Spectacular evidence of the earthquake is seen at recent excavations at Qumran in cracked stair steps within the ritual baths. Grooved fault surfaces (what geologists call “slickensides”) and ground rupture within lake sediment can be observed just south of Qumran. Josephus wrote of the regional devastation from the earthquake, and he said 30,000 men perished.⁹ The survivors buried the Dead Sea Scrolls and Qumran lay abandoned after the earthquake. The Bible, of course, is completely silent concerning this earthquake and other events during the intertestamental period. No doubt, everyone in New Testament times knew of ancestors killed in that event.
11. The Crucifixion in Jerusalem, April 3, 33 A.D.
After three hours of darkness at midday on April 3, 33 A.D., the Lord Jesus exclaimed the words “It is finished!” as He died on the cross. Immediately, the curtain of the sanctuary of the temple was torn, a great earthquake occurred, rocks were broken, and many dead saints were resurrected from their tombs (Matthew 27:51-54). The earthquake upon the death of Christ called attention to the great salvation that had been accomplished that day on the cross. The barrier between God and man was not removed by the earthquake tearing the Temple’s veil, but by His Son being offered as “the Lamb of God” for the sin of the world. The centurion and his soldiers, who were given the task of crucifying the Lord Jesus, saw the sky grow dark at noon, followed by the earthquake as Christ died at 3:00 p.m. They recognized that Jesus was indeed the Son of God.
An outcrop of laminated Dead Sea sediment can be seen at Wadi Ze’elim above the southwestern shore of the modern Dead Sea near the fortress of Masada. In this sediment outcrop is a distinctive one-foot thick “mixed layer” of sediment that is tied strongly to the Qumran earthquake’s onshore ground ruptures of 31 B.C. (see Figure 2).¹⁰ Thirteen inches above the 31 B.C. event bed is another distinctive “mixed layer” less than one inch thick. The sedimentation rate puts this second earthquake about 65 years after the 31 B.C. earthquake. It seems that the crucifixion earthquake of 33 A.D. was magnitude 5.5, leaving direct physical evidence in a thin layer of disturbed sediment from the Dead Sea.
12. The Resurrection in Jerusalem, April 5, 33 A.D.
No human agency rolled away the stone blocking the opening of our Lord’s tomb (Matthew 28:2). It was the earthquake in the presence of the angel. God’s sovereign action was obvious in both the earthquake and in our Lord’s resurrection. The purpose of the stone being rolled away was not to permit the resurrected body of Jesus to exit. The purpose was to allow people to see that the tomb was empty!
13. Jerusalem Prayer Meeting, Summer 33 A.D.
Following the day of Pentecost, the assembled church in Jerusalem received the report of threats and persecution from the Jewish leaders. That compelled them to pray that the outreach of His servants and the spread of the Gospel would continue. After the prayer, the place where they were gathered was shaken by an earthquake as believers spoke boldly (Acts 4:31).
14. The Prison at Philippi
An earthquake not only released Paul and Silas from the Philippi prison (Acts 16:26), but it authenticated their testimony. The jailer who witnessed the event recognized the Lord’s hand and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. That earthquake draws our attention to how God was using His apostles to minister in the early days of the church.
15. Today’s Earthquakes
When Jesus was asked by His disciples what the sign of His coming would be, He talked of wars, famine, epidemic disease, and earthquakes. Jesus said, “These are the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:8; Mark 13:8; cf. Luke 21:10-11). The word “sorrows” is the Greek word meaning “birth pangs.”¹¹ Seismograph analysis reveals that the frequency and energy of large earthquakes was not constant throughout the twentieth century. According to a popular urban legend, big earthquakes have been increasing in both frequency and energy. This legend is not supported by the seismograph data.¹² There appears to be about a 30-year cycle of increasing and decreasing earthquake frequency, suggesting the “beginning of birth pangs” theme. Furthermore, seismographs demonstrate that earthquakes are indeed distributed throughout the globe (the “divers places” as described by Jesus in Matthew 24:7 and Mark 13:8).
16. Gog’s Future Earthquake in Israel
Ezekiel 38 and 39 describe a northern confederacy of nations, commanded by a leader called Gog, that invades the land of Israel. A supernaturally directed natural disaster of colossal scale will occur (earthquake, slope failure, mountains overturned, dwellings collapse, rain of hailstones, rain of burning sulfur, and plague). This colossal disaster will result in the destruction of the invading armies (38:18-23), in God’s greatness and holiness being seen in the sight of the nations (38:23), and in the national conversion of Israel back to her sovereign Lord (39:25-29). Gog’s earthquake occurs after Israel has been dwelling in the land in perceived “safety” (38:8; 39:26) upon the northern confederacy’s unexpected invasion, whereas “Messiah’s earthquake” (Revelation 16:16-20) occurs after Israel has been afflicted with judgments at the site where “the kings of the earth and of the whole world” are gathered for battle (Revelation 16:14, 16).
17. Messiah’s Earthquake in the Future
The apostle John wrote of a “great earthquake” in the future associated with the opening of the “sixth seal” (Revelation 6:12). This earthquake will be the precursor to the greatest earthquake since men have been on the earth. This greatest earthquake will occur in association with the “seventh bowl” at a place called Armageddon (Revelation 16:16-20). This future “Armageddon earthquake” or “Messiah’s earthquake” will be associated with the return of Christ to Jerusalem (Acts 1:9-11; Zechariah 14:1-11) and is described as inflicting severe topographic and geologic changes on a global scale. Scripture appears to look forward to the monumental changes associated with this future earthquake (e.g., Psalm 46). After God’s voice shakes the earth mightily (Haggai 2:6, 7, 21, 22; Hebrews 12:26) and fully accomplishes these extraordinary geologic changes, His saints will receive a “kingdom which cannot be moved” (Hebrews 12:27-29).
Conclusion
A review of the 17 earthquakes listed above shows that virtually the entire story of the Bible can be summarized by its association with earthquakes. Biblical events emphasized by earthquakes are creation, Noah’s Flood, separation of Abraham and Lot from judgment of the wicked cities, the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, authentication of the leadership of Moses, God’s provision in the conquest of Canaan, vindication of the messages of Hebrew prophets, the crucifixion of our Lord in Jerusalem, the resurrection of our Lord, the ministry of the apostles and the church, the modern “birth pangs” sign of the end times, the national conversion of Israel, and the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. History, archaeology, and geology appear to confirm independently many earthquakes mentioned in the Bible.
Earthquakes have been used distinctively by God to highlight some of the most important events of the Bible. The three main purposes for biblical earthquakes are judgment, deliverance, and communication. The lesson is obvious—God does not do anything really big without emphasizing it with an earthquake! In our fast-paced, man-centered, technology-based society of the twenty-first century, God would have us pause and consider His sovereign nature and the program He has been accomplishing in the world.

References

1. Ben-Menahem, A. 1991. Four Thousand Years of Seismicity along the Dead Sea Rift. Journal of Geophysical Research. 96 (B12): 20195-20216.
2. Ken-Tor, R. et al. 2001. High-resolution Geological Record of Historic Earthquakes in the Dead Sea Basin. Journal of Geophysical Research. 106 (B2): 2221-2234; Migowski, C. et al. 2004. Recurrence Pattern of Holocene Earthquakes Along the Dead Sea Transform Revealed by Varve-counting and Radiocarbon Dating of Lacustrine Sediments. Earth and Planetary Sciences Letters. 222 (1): 301-314; Agnon, A., C. Migowski and S. Marco. 2006. Intraclast Breccias in Laminated Sequences Reviewed: Recorders of Paleo-earthquakes. In New Frontiers in Dead Sea Paleoenvironmental Research. Enzel, Y., A. Agnon, and M. Stein, eds. Geological Society of America Special Paper 401, 195-214.
3. Fine-grained lake sediment is disrupted and homogenized by high frequency p-waves. These waves break up sediment floccules and liquefy sediment layers. These waves attenuate quickly, so larger earthquakes near the Dead Sea cause the most sediment disturbance.
4. Migowski et al, Recurrence Pattern of Holocene Earthquakes. Data from this paper were plotted to make the 4,000-year sediment chronology. The sediment core was drilled at the shore of the present lake near En Gedi.
5. Deuteronomy 29:23; 32:32; Isaiah 1:9-10 (1:9 quoted in Romans 9:29); Isaiah 13:19; Jeremiah 23:14; 49:18; 50:40; Lamentations 4:6; Ezekiel 16:46-50; Amos 4:11; Zephaniah 2:9; 2 Peter 2:6; Jude 7; Revelation 11:8.
6. Deuteronomy 34:1-3; Isaiah 15:5; Jeremiah 48:34.
7. Is there any evidence for the Biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction by fire and brimstone (sulfur)? Posted on christiananswers.net.
8. Austin, S. A., G. W. Franz and E. G. Frost. 2000. Amos’s Earthquake: An Extraordinary Middle East Seismic Event of 750 B.C. International Geology Review. 42 (7): 657-671; Austin, S. 2010. The Scientific and Scriptural Impact of Amos’ Earthquake. Acts & Facts. 39 (2): 8-9.
9. Josephus. 1961. The Wars of the Jews. Thackeray, H. St. J., trans. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1.19.3 [§370].
10. Observations of Dead Sea sediment made by Steven A. Austin in 2001.
11. See Austin, S. A. and M. L. Strauss. 1999. Are Earthquakes Signs of the End Times?: A Geological and Biblical Response to an Urban Legend. Christian Research Journal. 21 (4): 30-39.
12. Ibid.

* Dr. Austin is Senior Research Geologist, Logos Research Associates, Santa Ana, CA.

Cite this article: Austin, S. 2010.

BABYLON, USA

   By definition, Babylon is a city or a place of great luxury, sensuality, and often vice and corruption; a place of captivity, or a place of exile; or any city regarded as a place of excessive luxury and wickedness.

   The Babylonian name, Bab-ilu (Babel, or Babylon) means "gate of the gods"---the place where men believe is the place where the gods consort with men, to order the affairs of the earth; or the place where Babylon kings believed they were commissioned to rule the world by divine mandate.
   Babylon is also a Biblical name for a baby boy, and thus the people of Babylon are babblers, or as toddlers, never growing up and becoming adults, for the leaders of Babylon want their captives to remain as little children, or to continuously need their religion to take care of them, or to be their mother.
   Nimrod was the founder of Babylon, and, to the people, he was considered to be a man-god, for he believed he was receiving power from the "gate of the gods", and they believed in him as a god.
   As the people of Babylon spread across the face of the earth, they brought their doctrine with them and created religions of different names, in which the leaders of religious systems believe they are heirs to the throne of Nimrod---to do in other nations everything that Nimrod was doing in Mesopotamia.
   Ancient Egypt became a house of Babylon.
   Ancient Greece became a house of Babylon.
   Ancient Rome became a house of Babylon, and, even to this day, Rome has remained a house of Babylon. 
   The New World Order today is a system of men from the house of Babylon, and their desire is to rule the world just as Nimrod ruled in ancient Babylon at the tower of Babel.
   So that today, the United States is a child of Roman Babylon---an extension of the Papacy---and it is in the United States where Antichrist will stand and stake his claim to the whole world and lead the world to one religion, which is Devil Worship.  For it is the Papacy of Rome that has been secretly governing the world---including the United States---since before the Protestant Reformation; and, even now, the kings of the earth kneel to the Papacy of Rome, for the Papacy also controls all the money of the entire world, as Babylon Rome is the wealthiest religion on the face of the earth.
   On September 11, 1990, President George Herbert Walker Bush gave his famous New World Order speech in his address to the United States Congress.
   On September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center in New York City was destroyed.  But the people there rebuilt the tower and named it One World Trade Center, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, so that eyes all over the world can see the tower of Babylon, USA, as the new "gate of the gods", as "the place of excessive luxury and wickedness", and the place where they believe they are "commissioned to rule the world by divine mandate".
   For it is expedient that Antichrist must come to America because America represents everything that Antichrist hates---Christians, churches, and Bibles---for all of these remind Antichrist of the face of Christ.  Therefore, in order to control the whole world, Antichrist must first destroy the United States. 
   In September, 2015, the leaders of the world, from both politics and religion, will be gathering together in New York City to make a deal.  They are not meeting to simply talk about global warming or climate change, but they are gathering to fulfill Satan's final battle plan against Christ, against Christians, against churches, and against the children of God worldwide:  for Satan is disguising himself behind and within the cloak of the United Nations as well as behind and within those men in their fancy suits and priestly garments.
   But we also know that merchants of the sea do not dock their ships at Rome because they dock their ships in New York Harbor.
   Therefore, look beyond those things we see with our eyes and hear with our ears in order to see spiritual warfare:
     " For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."                 (Ephesians 6: 12)
   Babylon, USA is rising in front of our eyes and in broad daylight.  Do you see it?  If you do, then turn your eyes away from Babylon and look to Christ:
      "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."  (Philippians 2: 10-11)
     
  

NEPAL: REVISITED

   According to Investment Watch, May 22, 2015, "The world is seeing a severe increase in both the frequency and severity of geological activities---earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and sinkholes."
   According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Kathmandu, Nepal "sits on one of the most seismically hazardous regions on Earth."
   In 2013, Nepal had 45 sinkholes that displaced more than 50 families and many homes were swallowed by the earth.
   In 2014, Nepal had 150 sinkholes in five months.
   Meanwhile, sinkholes have been happening worldwide.
   In 2013 in Louisiana, a sinkhole was estimated to be more than 750 feet deep.
   In China, on April 10, 2015, a sinkhole opened on a mountainside and was branded by locals as "The Gateway to Hell," according to the website, Mirror.  "Fumes spewing from the pit are so hot that tree branches burst into flames.  The temperature was recorded at 792 degrees Celsius.  Locals fear the glowing pit is a portal to the Devil himself."
   On April 25, 2015, a massive 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal, followed by more than 100 quakes since that day, and the death toll is nearing 10,000.  The earthquakes have also opened more sinkholes.
   NASA's Earth Observatory made this finding from Nepal's earthquake:  "The area along the fault moved by as much as twenty feet in both directions.  Nepal is located in a convergent zone where two chunks of continental crust are slowly colliding."
   Is it far-fetched to think---or is it within the realm of physical possibility---that the earth could open and swallow the entire nation of Nepal?
   Nepal is a model for the prophecy of Christ, when the Lord told us about distress of nations, with perplexity:  men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming upon the earth:  for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. (Luke 21: 25-26)
   Nepal is a model of a nation that lacks the love of God and the knowledge of God.  And even if or when Nepal rebuilds, unless the people experience the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, the people will return to living as they have been living for hundreds of years, and their lives in the future will be no better than their lives are today.
   Nepal needs prayers more than anything else---as do all nations upon the earth.
      For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3: 16)
  

BEYOND THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD

   The minds of people have been marinated in television for so long that television has become a god.  For if there is anything people need to know, the television will tell them.  And if they hear any words that are contrary to the words of the television, then it must either be a lie, or just another conspiracy theory.
   Welcome, friends, to another episode of The Yellow Brick Road:  where everybody is skipping along and singing a song as they are off to see the Wizard of Oz---for the Wicked Witch is dead!
   In 2015, however, the names and places have changed, but the story is the same:
      The Yellow Brick Road is now All Roads Lead to Rome.
      Emerald City is now New York City, or the New Rome.
      Oz is Apollyn, their god who has returned from the dead to establish a New World Order, a new kingdom of peace and tranquility, and to create a world in which everybody will just love everybody and live happily ever after, according to the television.
      As for the Wicked Witch, he is none other Christ the Lord.
   For it was in Jerusalem where Christ was slain, and in the minds of the world today, Christ is still dead.
   In 2015, Apollyn is coming to New York City and all eyes will be focused on the One World Trade Center in New York City, for it was Apollyn who conquered Christ, according to the television.
   Also coming to New York City in 2015 will be the leaders of the world from both politics and religion.  They will be gathering together at the United Nations for a global summit.
   In September, 2015, some big changes will be made. 
   Do you want to know what happens, or do you want to wait for the movie to be released and be surprised? 
   But if you want to read an advanced copy of the script, turn the pages of your Bible to Revelation, chapter nine, then read Revelation, chapters 17 and 18, to see what happens to Emerald City.

SHIVA, LORD OF THE DANCE

   Shiva is the third god in the Hindu triumvirate.  The other two gods are Brahma and Vishnu.  Brahma created the universe and Vishnu preserves it.  A triumvirate is a body of three holding power.
   Shiva's first wife, Sati, died, but was reincarnated as Pervati within the body of Shiva.  But Shiva also had a consort, Devi, the mother-goddess.
   In his representation as a man, Shiva has two legs and four arms.  His face and throat are the color blue.  He has a third eye in his forehead, and he wears a cobra, Vasuki, around his neck.  His weapon is the trishula, which is a three-pronged spear.  The damaru, a two-headed drum, is his musical instrument.
   Sometimes, however, Shiva is represented as half man, but also as half woman.
   To Hindus and Buddhists, dance is important to them in their religious rituals, and Shiva is called The Lord of the Dance.
   Vasuki is a naga, one of the king serpents of Hindu and Buddhist mythology, and Vasuki has a gem adorned on his head.  Manasa, another naga, is his sister.
   Vasuki, therefore, is Shiva's snake, known as the Destroyer.
   The damaru, or drum, is used in Hinduism and Buddhism, was also created by Shiva to produce spiritual sounds by which the whole universe has been created and regulated so that when people hear the drums they will dance the dance of Shiva and be happy.
   Not only in Hinduism and Buddhism, but tribal religions across thousands of years have used drums to conjure up evil spirits and people dance the dance of evil spirits.
   By now, we should be able to see and understand the place of drums in the world of music, especially in rock music, as people all over the world dance to the dance of evil spirits; and that two characteristics of the devil's music are drums and smoke.
   Remember, too, that an image of Shiva dancing can be produced by a technological invention called holograms.
   Perhaps, however, that many people are of the opinion that music is just music and music does not actually hurt anybody:  that people are just having fun.
   The deception of music and dancing with devils is this:
          And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth:  and to him was give the key of the bottomless pit.  And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke in the pit. (Revelation 9: 1-2)
   The people of Hinduism, Buddhism, and New Age are under the spell of witchcraft, and they are believing that Shiva will arise out of the fire and bring peace on earth---when, in truth, Shiva is simply the disguise of Satan, for Satan is the Destroyer Serpent, the god of destruction and death, not Shiva, and the Destroyer Serpent will arise out of the bottomless pit to kill people on earth.
   Jesus said, The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:  I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (John 10: 10)
   Furthermore, He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning.  For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. (1st John 3: 8)
   Beloved, events of the future are speeding toward us, and time, as we know time, is running out.
   And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom you will serve; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. (Joshua 24: 15)
 
      

NEPAL, 2015

      ...and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in diverse places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows. (Matthew 24: 7-8)


   Nepal is a nation that is deep in a hole of spiritual darkness, and Nepal is a nation that is experiencing the beginning of sorrows.


   HUMAN TRAFFICKING:
   One of Nepal's leading industries is human trafficking of women and children for sex and prostitution, not only in Nepal, but most of its victims are sold to India and to the Middle East in the global commerce of human slavery.


   BLOOD SACRIFICES:
   The Ghadimai Festival is a blood sacrifice to the Hindu goddess, Ghadimai, and animal sacrifices are conducted in temples all across Nepal.  During the Ghadimai Festival in November, 2014, more than 500,000 animals were beheaded for their blood, making it the largest animal sacrifice in the world.


   CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION:
   Christian churches are not legal in Nepal, and neither are Christian cemeteries.  For when Christians die in Nepal, families secretly move the bodies of the deceased under the cover of darkness to find a remote place, such as in a jungle, to dig holes to bury their dead---while hoping they will not be seen and clubbed by angry Hindus.


   Nepal is the world's only Hindu state, one of the world's poorest nations, where 45% of the population is illiterate, and 41% of the population is from 0-14 years.  Only about half of Nepal's children are allowed to complete the fifth grade of school---before they are snatched and sold in human trafficking.
   Over the past three weeks, Nepal has had 115 earthquakes that have killed more than 8,000 people, and the Dharahara Tower in Kathmandu was reduced to rubble for the second time in Nepal's history.
   Perhaps this would be a good time to reverse the mirror and look inside our own nations, for even here in the United States the fastest-growing religion is Witchcraft, followed by Islam.
   Over the past twelve months, the United States has had nearly 15,000 earthquakes, yet experts keep saying:  there is nothing to worry about.
   When we look to Nepal, we will understand the words of Christ more clearly.
   When we look to Nepal, we will understand that this nation or any nation will not stand when the people of nations turn their backs against Christ.
   In closing, perhaps this Biblical prophecy is written for the United States as much as it is written for any nation:
         My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:  because thou has rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me:  seeing thou has forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.  (Hosea 4: 6)
   What, then, is the lesson to be learned from Nepal?
         Nimrod built a tower.
         Nepal built a tower.
         The United States built twin towers and now those two are one.
   Clearly, Nepal is a nation that has rejected the knowledge of God, but Nepal is not alone.  Other nations will also fall and their towers will be reduced to rubble.
     

WHEN CHRIST APPEARS

     
   A watchman climbs the ladder to look over the wall and to report impending danger.  But if the people do not believe in the words of the watchman, the enemy will enter the camp and destroy the people without them ever knowing from whence he came.
   
   The Bible enables us to know the future, and writing about the future is not always easy to do, nor is necessarily pleasant or fun.  Nevertheless, the watchman reports the truth.
   We are at a point in history, however, when there is something more important to do than living on wasted time.  So what manner of persons should we be?  We should be redeeming the time, for the days are evil. (Ephesians 5: 16)
   But in order for us to know how to be redeeming the time, we must first come to know the Redeemer, who is Christ the Lord.
   God enables us to know Him, and, by knowing Him, we can know the knowledge of God as His words are written in the Bible.  By knowing this knowledge of God, we can have knowledge of the future, and the future is the knowledge of God.  Christ, however, is the missing link between us and knowing God; and as we accept Christ as our Savior, we have access to God the Father and to His vast storehouse of knowledge.
   If we, on the other hand, try to skip Christ, we will not believe in the knowledge of God, which is contained in the Bible, and neither will we believe in the future that the Bible reveals.
   Salvation in Christ is free, and the knowledge of God is also free.
   Isn't this beautiful to know?
   Now then.  What can we learn from the Bible from the knowledge of God?
   Evil is seductive:  sugar-coated and candy sweet.  When embraced, evil will consume people and then destroy them---for Satan, who is the Destroyer, is the god of evil.
   Religion, therefore, is an evil thing, for religion is seductive:  sugar-coated and candy sweet.  When embraced, religion will consume people, then destroy them---for Satan, who is the Destroyer, is the god of religion.
   Jesus said, The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:  I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (John 10: 10)
   Jesus came to set us free from the bondage of sin and to release us from the clutches of religion, to have life more abundantly, and to stop serving make-believe gods of religion, for none of these gods are living.  But Satan, who is behind the images of gods and goddesses, is very much alive.  And Christ is greater than the devil!
   No wonder the Word of the Lord declares,
      How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! (Romans 10: 15)
   Therefore having our faith in Christ sealed by the Holy Spirit, we can believe that Christ is coming again, and when He comes we shall see Him in the clouds!
   This is the future the watchman sees when he looks over the wall:  he sees the danger of evil, but, more than this, he sees the future for Christ.


     
     

SEPTEMBER 11, 3 B.C.

                          Jesus of Nazareth was born on September 11, 3 B.C.


   Constantine the Great was Emperor of the Roman Empire from 306-337 A.D.
   During his tenure as Caesar, Constantine declared Christianity to be the State Religion of the Roman Empire.  He also introduced three doctrines that not only changed the way people view history, but his doctrines reveal to us how people have been deceived to believe in lies as truth, even unto this day.
     1.  Constantine changed the Lord's Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday.
     2.  Constantine changed the birthday of Christ from September 11 to December 25.
     3.  Constantine introduced water baptism as sufficient for the cleansing of sin.
   Jesus said, "Follow me."
   Jesus never came to earth to launch a new religion.
   Jesus never said to follow religion.
   Jesus never said to build Christianity as a State Religion in Rome, nor that people should follow the leaders of Paganism, pretending to be Christian priests.
   Nimrod was religion's first man-god at the tower of Babel, born on December 25.
   Semiramis, the mother-wife of Nimrod, was born on December 25.
   Tammuz, the illegitimate son of Semiramis, was born on December 25.
   Combined, Nimrod and Semiramis and Tammuz became religion's first Trinity as Nimrod became religion's first "Father God", Semiramis became religion's first "Mother of God and Queen of Heaven", and Tammuz became religion's first "Son of God".
   Buddha of Buddhism was born on December 25.
   Khrisna of Hinduism was born on December 25.
   Adonis, the Greco-Syrian sun god, was born on December 25.
   Quetzalcoatl, a god of the Western Hemisphere, was born on December 25.
   Mithra of Persia was born on December 25.
   Osiris of Egypt was born on December 25.
   Horis of Egypt was born on December 25.
   Hercules of Greece was born on December 25.
   Attis of Phrygia was born on December 25.
   Saturnalia is a Roman festival of light for the Roman deity Saturn, who was born on December 25, and on December 25 Saturn is celebrated as the Dies Natalis of Sol Invictus, or the "Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun", the belief that Saturn is reincarnated each year on the Winter Solstice, which is December 25.
   December 21st is the shortest and darkest day of the year.  In the occult world, it is on this day, which is the Winter Solstice, that sun worshippers believe their sun gods die and are dead for three days.  Then on the 25th of December the sun gods awaken and are reincarnated, or resurrected, to live again for another year. 
   And on the Spring Solstice they will again exercise their belief, which the resurrection from death of the sun god as the sun arises on Easter morning.
   People in the occult have attempted to make it appear that Christ is no different than any other sun god, which began with Constantine the Great, Emperor of the Roman Empire. 
   How, then, can we know for sure and believe that Christ was born on September 11, 3 B.C.?
      And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: and she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.  And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.  And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth:  and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, and to devour her child, soon as he was born.  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron:  and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. (Revelation 12: 1-5)
   This celestial scene in the Bible is presented by John the Apostle of Christ and it has been traced by astronomers to September 11, 3 B.C., which is the beginning of the Jewish New Year, which is the Day of Trumpets.
   Moreover, the second chapter of Luke's Gospel tells us,
       "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night."  (Luke 2: 8)
   In Israel, the weather is cold  in December.  Therefore, there would have been no green grass growing in the fields, the sheep would have been in the sheepfold, and the shepherds would have been in their homes to stay warm.
   Moreover, too, number 11 is a Bible number that means judgment.
   Consider this when we know that the first two temples of Israel in Jerusalem as well as the Twin Towers in New York City were all destroyed on September 11.
   Therefore, it is sufficient to say that the birthday of Christ was moved from September 11 to December 25 to associate Jesus with idols as well as to confuse people and nations, in addition to changing a holy  day of God to a holiday  of man with the idol Santa Claus getting the attention.
      "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10: 17)


  

CHRISTIAN IDOLATRY

   If Christ is no more than an image in the imaginations of people, then Christ is no more than a religious idol, which is the same as an image of Christ---as in a portrait, a picture, a sculptor, or a dead Jesus hanging on a cross and worn as jewelry.  For this reason, Jesus of the Bible is a stranger to people of religious Christianity. 
   People of religious Christianity are governed by a religious dictatorship, which is the same as a State Religion---where people worship a priest they can see with their eyes.  For this reason, their religion is above the Bible as well as above Christ, for Christ is no more than an idol, or an image in their imaginations, and they see their priest as a man-god, to whom they have surrendered their souls instead of surrendering to Christ.  For they have been taught to believe that their salvation is in their religion, in their rites and rituals and water baptisms, and not in Christ and Christ alone.
   But to believe in Jesus of the Bible, then people must also believe in the Bible.  For if people only believe in Christ as an image in their imaginations, then it is impossible for them to believe in the words of Christ as written in the Bible, for they also know that idols do not speak.
   Furthermore, if people only believe in Christ as an image, can they honestly believe that Christ will return to earth as He said He will do?  Of course not!  For their faith is still in their Christianity as a religion and not in Christ as a real and living being in Heaven.
   Therefore, it should be simple to see and to understand, that if Jesus is no more than an image of imaginations, then the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ is no more than an accumulation of images of an idol:  and idols do not arise from death to live again! 
   When people are hooked on Christian idolatry, their trust is not in Jesus of the Bible because their belief of Christ is only an image that has been formed and framed in their imaginations by the power of witchcraft.  Neither will they believe in the words of Jesus in the Bible because the words of religious law has been written in their minds.
   The Apostle Paul addresses this subject when he wrote an epistle to the Christians at Galatia:
      O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth, crucified among you? (Galatians 3: 1)
   For it was not religion that was crucified for sin, and neither did religion arise from death.  And it is for certain that religion will not return from above and take people to heaven.
   In truth, it is the Holy Spirit who must break through the walls of religious idolatry to reveal Christ to people, even the walls that have been built in the minds and imaginations of people:
      Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.  (2 Corinthians 10: 5)
   

The Mystery Of The Shemitah with Rabbi Jonathan Cahn at Joshua Springs

SUNDAY LAW, 2015

   Sunday Law is coming to the United States and to all nations upon the earth.
   Sunday Law is about a work-free day, or a day of rest and "spiritual refreshment", and that day is Sunday.
   When Sunday Law is declared, it will be accepted by people worldwide, including millions of Catholics, Moslems, and Jews, for even Israel is preparing to honor Sunday Law. 
   Once declared, Sunday Law will be enforced because it will, after all, be a law, and lawbreakers will be punished. 
   Pope Francis is coming to America in September, 2015, and the Pope is not coming to preach the Gospel of Christ, nor is he coming to preach about the return of Christ.  Pope Francis is coming to America to establish his kingdom, to be seen worldwide via television and internet, to usher in a new age, or a new beginning for the whole world, which will be a State Religion.  And because Sunday Law is his idea, people worldwide will agree with him because the world sees him as the "Holy Father", or as a god upon the earth, and, as a god, his words must be true and his ways will be expected to be honored and obeyed.
   Therefore, look for Pope Francis to impose Sunday Law when he comes to the United States in September, 2015, as he addresses the United Nations in New York City, the Congress of the United States in Washington, and the World Council of Families in Philadelphia.
   In September, 2015, leaders worldwide and people worldwide will kneel to this man from the Vatican and call him "holy".
   But God is calling us in remembrance of the words of Christ our Lord, when He said:
      And call no man your father upon the earth:  for one is your Father, which is in heaven.  Neither be ye called masters:  for one is your Master, even Christ. (Matthew 23: 9-10)

KNOWING THE FUTURE

   God feeds the birds, but the birds come off the limbs and go get it.
   Are we not better than birds in the eyes of God?
   We can know the truth about God, but we must let go of the limbs and stop hanging on with our talons.
   The people on television, for example, can only tell us yesterday's news because they do not know the truth about the future.
   The truth about God is in the Bible, but we must be willing to open the Bible and read in order to receive the truth.
      So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10: 17)
   The Bible enables us to know the future.  But without the Bible, people will remain as little children believing in fairytales---which is precisely the goal of governments and religions:  to keep people as little children and always playing "follow the leader", and to keep people hanging on to every word that proceeds from the leaders of governments and religions.  In so doing, they keep people as slaves to government and slaves to religion.
   Are we not better than birds?
   Are we not better than slaves?
   Worldwide, are people better off today than people were during the days of the Roman Empire?
   Do people look healthy, happy, and prosperous?
   Worldwide, people are still living as slaves to governments and slaves to religions.
   Over the past two thousand years, the leaders of governments and religions have been working to keep the knowledge of God from becoming the knowledge of people; therefore, people today have the knowledge of governments and the knowledge of religions, and, because of these systems of slavery, people are continuing to experience poverty, sickness, disease, and death.
   Jesus said,
      Let not your heart be troubled:  ye believe in God, believe also in me.  In my Father's house are many mansions:  if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.  (John 14: 1-3)
   For you see, my friends, it is impossible for governments and religions to prepare a place for us in Heaven, for they do not have the authority of God, nor the permission from God to do so, and neither do they know the truth of the future.

OCTOBER, 2015

    Religions and governments have been waging a war against Christ for two thousand years.
    Of course, governments have always had a religion, and religion has always had a government.  And Satan has always been the unseen god of man's religions as well as the unseen god of governments.
    For this reason, governments and religions have always been mean and cruel to people.
    Even now, governments and religions appear to be separate and independent institutions, but they are not and they never will be, for they have always been silent partners.
    Governments deceive people to believe in government, and religions deceive people to believe in religion.
    There is no love in governments or in religions, for even the leaders of both institutions do not like one another, and they will even kill one another to arise to the top. 
    At the same time, the leaders of governments and religions will kill people within their own houses to rule over them and to keep them under their authority. 
    By now, it should be easy to understand that governments and religions are systems of human slavery. 
    Even now, people are suffering worldwide. 
    And who is in charge of people and nations worldwide?
    Governments and religions are in charge! 
    And this suffering, therefore, will continue as governments and religions will keep telling people that things will get better.  They will keep spinning the same lies they have been spinning for two thousand years!
  Since global conditions have not improved for two thousand years, why should people believe that conditions will improve in the future? 
   Instead of trusting in governments and religions, trust in Christ.
   Instead of trusting in men in their fancy suits and priestly garments, trust in Christ.
   In September, 2015, look for governments and religions to come together.  Then look for Antichrist to stand up, and to him people will kneel and believe that he is Messiah, but he is not.
   So then, what should we expect to see between now and October, 2015?
      And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:  for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.  And then they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.  (Luke 21: 25-28)