The images are disturbing, unnerving. But they are real. All too real. A rock band is performing in Indonesia to the delight of the audience when suddenly, without warning, a massive wave sweeps them off the stage to their deaths. There are screams of terror, then there is blackness. This is what sudden destruction looks like. Yet the Bible says it will come one day to the whole earth.
The band was named “Seventeen,” with a large Instagram following, and the band’s sole surviving member, Riefian Fajarsyah, lost his wife in the tsunami. To date, the death toll nationwide has reached 430, with another 1,500 injured and almost 22,000 displaced.
Of course, as tragic as these figures are, they pale in comparison to the 2004 tsunami which struck multiple countries at the same time and resulted in a death toll of 227,000. But, in the aftermath of the 2004 tragedy, “countries including the UK, Germany and Malaysia donated detection buoys and other equipment to Indonesia to help warn of future tsunamis,” although upgrading has been needed for the equipment.
Still, the recent tsunami came without warning.
As related by survivor Bapu Suwarna, “The sound grew and I even heard crashing sounds. Seconds later I saw people running from the tsunami wave shouting ‘Tsunami! Waves! Waves!’”
He added: “It took only seconds not minutes after hearing the thunderous sounds and then the waves hit us. From the bottom of my heart, I sincerely request that the government set up an early warning system so people can anticipate an incoming tsunami. I didn’t have much time, after the loud sounds were heard.”
It was literally a matter of seconds. Moments later, there was devastation.
Yet, to repeat, the Bible says that this will happen again in much greater fashion and on a much grander scale.
As Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (1 Thes. 5:2-3).
Please don’t take these words lightly. If you believe the Bible to be true, then what Paul wrote will come to pass.
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SOURCE: Christian Post, Michael Brown
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