2004: The Year of Natural Disasters
The year 2004 has witnessed a stunning succession of killer disasters, taking multiple thousands of lives and leaving in their wake massive devastation, homelessness and heartache. What the world needs now is the spiritual insight to grasp the signs of our time...
The count of lives lost in the recent tsunami that devastated the coastal areas of South Asia is now over 120,000 and still rising. Its staggering toll far exceeds the lives lost in Iran's killer earthquake that killed more than 43,000 people, injured another 20,000 and left some 60,000 destitute.
Also, the projected economic losses are certain to be in the multi-billions of dollars. By way of contrast, from 1970 to 1985 insurance losses from such disasters were relatively stable. Since then they have skyrocketed, causing concern for the world's insurance industry.
Even before this latest disaster, the world in 2004 had already experienced hurricanes in both America and the Caribbean and typhoons in Japan, all inflicting loss of life and huge economic losses.
What the world needs now is the spiritual insight to grasp the signs of our time.
In His last major prophecy before His crucifixion, Jesus said that one of the many signs that would precede His return to earth would be earthquakes in various places (Matthew 24:7). Since earthquakes have occurred throughout history, He was probably referring to a spiraling increase in their frequency and destructiveness.
In the same sentence, He also mentioned pestilences (disease epidemics). These often occur in the wake of earthquakes and similar disasters.
The potential disease fallout from this latest monster earthquake in the Indian Ocean is already a cause of grave concern for the health officials in the Pacific Rim region. Some officials have speculated that 40,000 or more people may die from sicknesses arising from current unsanitary conditions in the region.
British columnist William Rees-Mogg—nearly 2000 years distant from the time of Christ—describes our current precarious plight. "Mankind has built a fragile home for itself, with the growth of the world's population, the exploitation of natural resources, the spread of diseases from overcrowding and modern transport, the dependence on modern technologies, some of which are very vulnerable to upheaval, and the tall buildings which are open to terrorism. That fragility is the real danger of the modern world" ( Dec. 27, 2004, emphasis added throughout).
Many trends indicate that we now are experiencing the ultimate expression of the apostle Paul's observation: "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time" (Romans 8:22, New International Version). But even greater "pains" and catastrophes are still ahead.
For example, immediately before Jesus Christ begins His reign as King of kings over "the kingdoms of this world" (Revelation 11:15), the most powerful earthquake of all time is prophesied to occur. Concerning that time, Jesus warns, "Behold, I am coming as a thief [unexpected]. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame" (Revelation 16:15). Then follows a description of some of the events that will occur at His return, including "such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth" (verse 18).
Destructive natural disasters are only a few of the signs that point to the imminent end of "this present evil age" (Galatians 1:4). Bible prophecy reveals that God plans to shake our society to its very roots—then replace all of the kingdoms of men with the Kingdom of God.
Make no mistake about it. A new utopian age is coming to this earth. The present horrific natural disasters will then be buried deep in the past. We live now in a time of an uneasy, chaotic transition—yet (for those who understand) with the firm expectancy of a new world of peace, prosperity and plenty.
God is preparing a specially trained people to help Jesus Christ reform the entire world when He returns. As Paul put it: "For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God" (Romans 8:19).
God's children are those rare people in this present age who, with courage and commitment, choose to live wholeheartedly by the teachings of His Word. Do you have the courage to be one of them?
Course Content
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
