“Then the earth quaked and trembled. The foundations of the mountains shook; they quaked because of his anger. Smoke poured from his nostrils; fierce flames leaped from his mouth. Glowing coals blazed forth from him.”
Psalm 18:7-8 NLT
After acknowledging that God heard David’s cries and prayers for help, David let his imagination dwell on the different ways that God could deal with the problem of his enemies. Earthquakes and fire appear in David’s poetry, themes again appearing in Isaiah, “But suddenly, your ruthless enemies will be crushed like the finest of dust. Your many attackers will be driven away like chaff before the wind. Suddenly, in an instant, I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will act for you with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and storm and consuming fire” (Isaiah 29:5-6). Earthquakes and fire are just two of God’s remedies for dealing with a sinful and wicked earth, and we’re so grateful that He is holding back His judgement. He didn’t in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah, as we read in Genesis 19:24-25, “Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulphur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation”. In case anyone thinks that the Genesis account was just mythical, evidence has been found of an ancient city destroyed by intense heat. Dating methods have placed it in the right historical period.
Elijah too came up against earthquakes and fire, as we read in 1 Kings 19:11-12, “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper“. An amazing demonstration of God’s power re-confirmed Elijah’s mission.
So what do we pilgrims think of earthquakes and fire? We know the words of Jesus in Matthew 24:7, “Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world”, and we look around and see this happening. We might even suspect that David’s words were a prophetic message foretelling God’s judgement, but Jesus continued in the next verse, “But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come“. Earthquakes were very much part of the apocalyptic vision recorded in Revelation. We read in Revelation 16:17-18, “Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. And a mighty shout came from the throne in the Temple, saying, “It is finished!” Then the thunder crashed and rolled, and lightning flashed. And a great earthquake struck—the worst since people were placed on the earth“. There was fire involved as well in the last days. Revelation 16:8, “Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, causing it to scorch everyone with its fire“.
Earthquakes and fire are considered part of God’s judgement on the evil and wicked people who have populated Planet Earth. Up until now, we read that, “The Lord is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. But he does not excuse the guilty. … ” (Numbers 14:18a). We are so thankful that God’s anger and judgement has been delayed because otherwise we would not be around today. As we read through Revelation we can see a series of world events that take place before the Time of the End in Revelation 20, but in Hebrews 9:27 we read, “ … each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment“. In these days on Planet Earth we live in a season of God’s grace. The Revelation 16 times of earthquakes and fire have yet to come. David did indeed prophesy about what was to come, and we pilgrims are in a place of God’s favour and grace, which we strive to share with others.
Dear Father God. To many people their lives will not end well as they stand before You on Judgement Day. But thank You that You have entrusted us with Your message of hope. Please help us to spread the word that “Jesus saves”. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 