Floods, Earthquakes, Tornadoes, and God's Judgment

*Images Borrowed from Boston.com*

In the first week of May, this year, I was pondering on the end of days (imagine that!) and thinking about how many people I know and have talked with who are just as sure as they can be that this coming election will go off without a hitch; that George Bush may be a terrible leader, and a liar, but his rule has no significant impact on the spiritual "big picture" (because he's foolish); and that I would be a much better evangelist if I'd just lay off the politics.

In my prayer, I reminded God that I was following Him, and not "George Bush as the Antichrist". I reminded him of how frustrating it was to be compelled to share a message that very few people receive. And while the prophets of scripture were promised to experience exactly the sort of reception that I've grown familiar with, I couldn't help but feel that it was possible that my perception was misguided.

So I prayed that the Father would give me a sign, one way or another, about George Bush. I didn't want to "wait and see" (as so many that I've talked with seem willing to do). I certainly didn't want to be deceiving people unawares. And though my study of scriptures, and of current events only served to reinforce the conclusion that Bush is the Antichrist, I know that man's reasoning ability is never perfect. And that the enemy is much trickier than people tend to give him credit for.

So I prayed for God to guide me, to reassure and strengthen my spirit, to remove all doubt if it needed to be removed, or to stop me from proclaiming something that was not the truth.
Within the week, on the night of May 10th, I was compelled to write a blog post about cyclone Nagis, and the arrogant foolishness of modern people, who presume that we are more advanced than our ancestors. It was called "How long, Oh Lord?!", and in that post, I wrote the following sentences:

"(W)hat's happened to Myanmar is clearly, above all other things, a great tragedy. Even though this sort of thing is supposed to happen if George Bush is the Antichrist, I'm still stunned when I hear of earthquakes, floods, tornadoes and "mega-disasters" like Cyclone Nagis. The world is experiencing a new degree of suffering at the hand of mother nature."

I was up until about 2AM writing that post, and when I woke up the next morning, the first thing I heard about on the news was about 22 people who were killed by a flurry of Tornadoes from Oklahoma to Georgia the night before. Immediately, I remembered what was just written. But I didn't want just a confirmation of my current beliefs, so I didn't take that as a God-worthy sign. I know that God is capable of signs that are far less coincidental than that. The jury was still out.

Why did I dare to look for a sign in the first place? Because this is serious business.

The strength and power of a disbelieving majority is very great (and reinforces doubt). Likewise, the ability of our own minds to play tricks on us is a serious factor. I was determined to let God show me clearly whatever it was that he had to show. We all have to remind ourselves at times that we aren't forging this spiritual track like Luis and Clark: we aren't in the lead. We are all, instead, like sheep being led through the wilderness by a good Shepherd. This shepherd has a much better idea of where we're going than we will need. And our idea of the right path is only true when it follows the lead of our Shepherd.

I took note of the coincidence, and decided to keep my eyes peeled for earthquakes and floods in the near future. That happened on May 11th. On May 12th, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck China, killing tens of thousands. When I heard about that, I began to tell my house-mates, other friends and my family that America was going to experience serious floods in the near future. Seeing 2 out of the 3 randomly selected natural disasters that I wrote about come to pass within 48 hours of writing gave me boldness to prophecy about coming floods.

Between May 12th and when the current flooding began, I put a lot on the line. People in my life who are cynical of my beliefs about Bush could have used the absence of floods as a confirmation that I don't know what I'm talking about. I knew that, but felt strongly that I needed to take the risk anyway. I've never considered myself to be a prophet, because I have never gotten a "thus saith the Lord" kind of word to share with people. I write and speak about what I believe to be truth, not what a heavenly voice told me to say. But in answer to my prayer I got a word of prophecy. It was an interactive experience with God that has served to fully reinforce my beliefs that these are the last days, and that this weather is the judgment of God.

In the Bible, there are two types of prophets: those whom God sends and gives a message to, and those who deceive people and manipulate them to be at ease when they should be on guard. False prophets say "Peace, peace" when there is no peace. This happened in 2001, when the religious right sighed with relief, having restored the Whitehouse to the hands of a supposed "christian". Their assurance was shown to be as wrong as it gets within that very year.

In Christian tradition, a "word of prophecy" is a spiritual gift that can be manifested by all members of the body of Christ. A believer does not have to be a prophet in order to prophecy, but the way that we can distinguish between real and false prophets is simple: When real prophets warn people, and the people do not respond; the warnings of that prophet always come true.

Conversely, whatever a false prophet says in the name of the Lord will surely not happen.

1 Corinthians 14:1-3

"Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort."