ICR:No. 198 EARTHQUAKES IN THESE LAST DAYS  by Steven A. Austin, Ph.D

   Earthquakes are among the most awesome, and sometimes most
terrifying, natural events a person can experience. That was brought to
the world's attention again by the great California earthquake of
October 17, 1989. Already, that earthquake is recognized to be the most
costly natural disaster in the history of the United States.
Christians, also, have been asking what God's purposes have been for
earthquakes.

   SPECIAL PURPOSES FOR ANCIENT EARTHQUAKES

   A review of the twelve historic earthquakes of the Bible shows that
they were used at various times for special purposes.

   1. Day Three of Creation Week. On the third day of creation the
earth's waters were collected into the oceanic basins as continents
appeared (Genesis 1:9,10). Continents were uplifted and the ocean floor
was depressed during a great faulting process which "established" the
foundations of the earth. We are told that angels saw and praised the
omnipotent God as this earth-shaking process occurred (Job 38:4-7;
Psalm 148:1-6; possibly Psalm 104:5,6).

   2. Noah's Flood on the Earth. One of the primary physical causes of
God's great judgment in Noah's Flood was the splitting open of all the
fountains of the great deep (Genesis 7:11). Enormous earth upheavals on
the sea floor occurred as sea floor springs were faulted open,
unleashing a universal flood on our planet. God's purpose was to begin
the human race again from the family of Noah.

   3. Crossing the Red Sea. Although the historical record of Israel's
crossing the Red Sea (Exodus 14) has no reference to earthquakes, the
poetically heightened account in Psalm 77:18 speaks of God's voice
expressed as earthquakes accompanying this extraordinary deliverance.

   4. Moses on Sinai. Before God spoke to Moses and gave the Ten
Commandments, there was a great shaking of the mountain (Exodus 19:18).
No doubt the earthquake prepared both Moses and Israel for the
important truths the Lord was going to communicate.

   5. Korah's Rebellion in the Wilderness. Korah and all his men were
killed, and all of their possessions taken, as the land on which they
were camped split apart and closed back upon them (Numbers 6:31-33).
The 250 men were destroyed by God because they were in rebellion
against Him.

   6. The Fall of Jericho. Bible readers, especially those who are
familiar with the archaeological excavations at Jericho, have supposed
that an earthquake toppled the walls of the city. However, the account
of Israel's conquering the city of Jericho (Joshua 6) contains no
reference to earthquakes. There is no doubt that the fall to earth of
the city's great wall would have caused the earth to shake. God
delivered the city, by whatever means, into Israel's hand.

   7. Philistine Camp near Geba. Israel conquered the Philistines near
Geba after an earthquake occurred in their camp (I Samuel 14:15).
Jonathan and his armor bearer were separated from their army and would
otherwise have been killed by the Philistines.

   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 (I
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. Uzziah's Earthquake at Jerusalem. Uzziah, the longest-reigning
King of Judah, became proud of his great buildings and the strength of
his army (II Chronicles 26). The Lord afflicted Uzziah's kingdom and
buildings with a great earthquake (Amos 1:1; Zechariah 14:5) as well as
Uzziah personally, with incurable leprosy. A recent technical report
gives evidence that this earthquake was the largest in the last 4,000
years of Palestine(1).

   10. The Crucifixion in Jerusalem. When our Lord Jesus Christ died on
the cross, a great earthquake tore the curtain of the sanctuary of the
temple, and many dead saints were resurrected from their tombs (Matthew
27:51-54). The earthquake was used by the Lord to show the great
salvation that had been accomplished that day on the cross. Because of
the earthquake, the centurion and those with him at the cross
recognized that Jesus was indeed the Son of God.

   11. The Resurrection in Jerusalem. No human agency rolled away the
stone blocking the opening of our Lord's tomb (Matthew 28:2).

   12. The Prison at Philippi. An earthquake not only released Paul and
Silas from the 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.

   "BIRTH PANGS" AND RECENT EARTHQUAKES

   Recent earthquakes should receive a different interpretation in the
Christian's thinking. Jesus Christ spoke of them as "signs" of His
coming again to earth. He said, "There will be earthquakes in divers
places" (Matthew 24:7; Mark 13:8), a fact now verified by the global
distribution of earthquakes recorded on seismographs. Furthermore, He
said this sign is the "beginning of sorrows" (Matthew 24:8; Mark 13:8).
The word translated "sorrows" in many English Bibles is the Greek word
for "birth pangs." Just as we know that a woman is going to give birth
to a child because of birth pangs, Jesus says we know that the
intolerable anguish of God's judgment and the return of His Son is at
hand.

   The birth pang theme is also alluded to by the apostles Paul and
John. Paul speaks in cosmic dimensions of all creation "groaning in
travail" (Romans 8:22), awaiting the new birth of the world; John
speaks of the sign of the pregnant woman (Revelation 12:2) and later
describes the greatest earthquake since men have been upon the earth,
when mountains and islands will be displaced (Revelation 16:18-20).
This great future earthquake will be associated with the return of
Christ to Jerusalem (Acts 1:9-12; Zechariah 14:1-11), and is described
as inflicting severe topographic and geologic changes on a global
scale.(2)

  
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Figure 1. Global summary of ninety years of seismograph records showing
the frequency and energy of large shallow earthquakes.(3) A. Number of
great earthquakes with measured surface wave magnitudes greater than or
equal to 8.0 reported each year since 1897. B. Number of shallow
earthquakes with surface wave magnitudes greater than or equal to 7.0
reported each year since 1897. C. Global energy of large earthquakes
assembled from seismograph records beginning with the year 1900. Curve
shows five-year running average (in ergs per year) displayed on the
logarithmic energy scale.
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   Some people have supposed that earthquake frequency and intensity
have been increasing significantly in recent times, and that this is
fulfilling prophecy. This is an illusion caused lately by more frequent
detection of earthquakes (more seismographs with greater sensitivity).
The illusion is also promoted by the fact that earthquakes inflict
greater damage on today's larger, urbanized populations, and,
therefore, make the news more often. Since good seismographs went into
operation late in the 1890's, no steady trend suggesting increased
frequency or intensity has been demonstrated. The birth-pang notion of
earthquakes is verified by seismographic data, which shows their
erratic occurrence. Figure 1 summarizes global data on large
earthquakes during the last ninety years. For the decades of the 1950's
and 60's, twelve great earthquakes with magnitudes greater than or
equal to 8.0 occurred (Figure 1A), but for the decades of the 1970's
and 80's, only three have occurred. Similarly, shallow earthquakes,
with magnitudes greater than or equal to 7.0 for the period 1899-1970,
averaged ten events per year, but during the decades of the 1970's and
80's, they have averaged just seven events per year (Figure lB).
Perhaps the best illustration of the erratic trend in earthquake
frequency and intensity is seen in the total energy of large
earthquakes (Figure lC). A pronounced peak in global earthquake energy
release occurred from 1952 to 1965. For the year 1989, the global
energy release may be one-tenth the yearly release of the early 60's.
Global seismic activity is very non-uniform in time; it is like waiting
for birth pangs. When will there be another global upturn in seismic
activity?

   CONCLUSION

   Earthquakes have been used of God at special times, with special
people, for special purposes. Like other miracles, Biblical earthquakes
were employed infrequently when no other human or physical agency could
inflict judgment on the wicked, redeem His righteous people from
difficult situations, or gain man's attention so God's Word could be
considered. In fact, these three purposesjudgment, deliverance, and
communication should form our basis for understanding earthquakes. In
our fast-paced, man-centered, technology-based society of the late 20th
century, God would have us pause and consider His sovereign nature and
His coming program for the world.

   REFERENCES

   1. S.A. Austin, "The Extraordinary Middle East Earthquake of 750
B.C.," ICR unpublished technical report, August 1989, 18 pp. 2. H. M.
Morris, The Revelation Record, (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers,
1983), p. 321. 3. Figures lA and lB after K. Abe and S. Noguchi,
"Revision of magnitudes of large shallow earthquakes, 1897-1912,"
Physics of Earth and Planetary Interiors, 33 (1983): pp. 1-11. Figure
lC after H. Kanamori, "Importance of Historical Seismograms for
Geophysical Research," W. Lee, H. Meyers, and K. Shimazaki, eds.,
Historical Seismograms and Earthquakes of the World (New York: Academic
Press, 1988), pp. 16-33. These figures were brought current from the
year 1980 to the year 1983 by a computer search of the global
earthquake data base of National Geophysical Data Center, Boulder,
Colorado.

   * Dr. Austin is Chairman of the Geology Department at ICR.

