This Article: (3 Pages)
- 1. Earthquakes as Political Events.
- 2. Earthquakes at Significant Events
- 3. Tsunami
2) Earthquakes at Significant Events
In the past Yahweh has used earthquakes and signs to mark significant events. Yahshua's life is a case in point. His birth was marked by a bright moving star (Matt 2). His death was marked by a massive earthquake (Matt 27:51-54) as was his resurrection (Matt 28:2). In a battle, Yahweh has caused the earth to quake with the victory given with Jonathan against the Philistines (1Sam 14). Deborah in her song (Judges 5:4) and David in his psalms (2Sam 22:8, Psa 18:7, 77:18, 97:4) mention the earth trembling as a feature of the victory of Yahweh. All prophets agree the earth shall shake at the coming of the presence of Yahweh in judgement (Isa 2, 13, 24, Ezek 38, Joel 3, Hag 2, Hebrews 12). Were the massive eruptions at Krakatoa a sign of some significant event?
We can look at the events of the two eras. At first when one looks at the years from 1882 to 1888 there seems not to be any event of great significance; the death of Marx and the growth of the labour and communist movements, the building of the statue of liberty, and earthquakes in England and the USA
However, if we narrow our search to events relating to the fate of Israel, we see 1882 was the beginning of a significant era indeed. In that year Jews from Roumania first settled Rosh Pinah meaning 'Head Stone' (they quoted Psa 118!) which was the first successful settlement of the Land of Israel. Also in that year Jews started to leave Russia to go to Palestine. These were years of bloodshed, of pogroms against Jews in Russia. How appropriate then that the northern skies should be red. In 1882 the Russian Jewish emigrants helped settle Zichron Yaakov, 'memory of Jacob', Peta Tikva the 'gateway of hope' and Rishon-le-Zion, 'first to Zion'. The years from 1882 to 1903 are known as the First Aliyah, or the first ''going up' of Jews to Israel, some 25,000 of them. It is remarkable that in September 1882 Ze'ev Dubnow a settler wrote that their goal as settlers was to return to the Jews political control of all the land. It was that year that the anthem of Israel was written. By 1889 when the red faded from the skies, a group led by Ben Yehuda declared Hebrew was to be revived as the language of all.
Also at this time in 1883, the first events that historians trace as triggers for the first world war occurred. An alliance was signed between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy to make the Triple Alliance. Britain also gained control of Egypt. Would not those who understood the prophets have stood in awe? Europe was beginning to unite, and England move in as the king of the South to fulfil Daniel's prophecy and Jews were going back to the land to fulfil Ezekiel's prophecy. Those years also saw a conflict between Serbia and Boznia, the very trigger of the first world war. The first world war was significant to Israel, for it led to the declaration of the homeland of the Jews made in the Balfour declaration of 1917.
If indeed the first significant events to lead to the establishment of the state of Israel occurred in 1882-3, it may be that the loud 'bang' heard was an announcement to the world. In any case it announced, at the very least, that man was puny indeed in the face of the forces on the earth.
When we go back to 535AD, what would the skies turning dark at midday over Europe and the Mediterranean mean? What would suphuric red skies to 540AD mean to those who saw them? Modern historians locate this time as the beginning of the Dark Ages. As the natural sun turns dark the increasing power of the church's doctrine reduces the light. It was in 528 AD that Justinian reforms the law, which is issued the year after. Justinian closes the Platonic (or scientific) academy in Athens. In 533AD Justinian proclaims the Pope as universal bishop. In 535 Justinian sets out to recover Italy from the Goths and in that year Belisarius captures Sicily. In the following year Belisarius captures Naples and Rome. This was the beginning of a dark time indeed for the servant of Yahweh and the Jewish people both persecuted by the system that was beginning to have a stranglehold on thought through their political power.
The meaning of these two eruptions suggested is merely a theory with no Biblical evidence. One cannot be dogmatic or certain in this case. The events in Revelation, as a continuous historical understanding, show two gaps for these two dates. The discussion above is based on the knowledge that Yahweh can control the movement of the earth, yet for some reason chooses to let the pressures build up so much that the resulting explosion is catastrophic. We know that in the case of the more modern eruption in 1883 that the volcano had been dormant for a long time previously. For the Catastrophic eruption in 535AD there similarly must have been a long build up. It could have exploded in any era. Why did it explode to herald the era of the dark ages to make the Mediterranean sky dark? Why the large 'bang' and shake in the l880's to mark when the first move towards Israel's rebirth occurs? One eruption marked the beginning of the dominance of the Holy Roman Empire, the other marked the beginning of the re-establishment of Israel, which to us is the beginning of the re-establishment of the process of the dominance of Zion. It could be co-incidence or it could be another example of the layering of detail in providence that major natural events also fit prophetic eras.
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