Zephaniah 2:2-3 Before the decree is issued, Or the day passes like chaff, Before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon you, Before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you! Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, Who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger.
Today, Indonesian authorities issued a tsunami warning after Ruang Mountain erupted, sending ash thousands of feet into the sky. They ordered more than 11,000 people to evacuate the area. This brings to mind a story from the late 1800s, when witnesses to a volcanic eruption were convinced that it signaled the end of the world.
It was 1883, and Captain Sampson of the British Navy witnessed one of the greatest volcanic eruptions in history, which took place in Indonesia. The eruption was so powerful that its shock waves traveled around the world seven times. The volcano shot miles of debris into the atmosphere, which fell to earth as far away as Madagascar, over a 2000-mile distance. Captain Sampson wrote in the ship’s log: “I am writing this blind in pitch darkness. We are under continual rain of pumice stone and dust. So violent are the explosions that the eardrums of over half my crew have been shattered … I am convinced that the Day of Judgment has come.”
These men witnessed something extraordinary, and it caused them to ponder the inevitable question — Is this the end? What was the crew thinking and feeling as they were deafened by the massive explosions and blinded by the clouds of smoke and ash? To them, it must have been as if the sun had become like sackcloth! Did this experience change their lives? Were they now powerfully aware of how fragile life is? Did they suddenly begin to examine what their lives had consisted of up to that moment?
Imagine yourself in that boat as these events are taking place. Now picture yourself in the present moment … are you thinking about what your life has been about or what it is now? Are you thinking about what it could be??
Wake up. Recognize that eruptions are already taking place, and these are the Lord’s warnings to this sleeping world; warnings that His return is NEAR! We are privileged to be witnesses and participants in the most extraordinary times as the end of the age draws near. But God is looking for people who are awake, wise, who understand the signs of the times, and who know Him … so they can take action and shine like stars in a darkening world– will you be one of them?
The time of the signs.
Rather than simply signs of the time, this is the time of the signs.