Published 10 times annually All Bible references are from the KJV
(Examining Current Events in the Light of Bible Prophecy)
Why I Love Biblical Prophecy
(Part
One)
“Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy,and keep those things which are written therein…” Revelation 1:3
I
am in awe of the prophetic Word of God. To be in awe of God’s Word
is to be in reverence of His holy Name, which is the full expression
of who He is. In Psalm
138:2 the psalmist declares “thou
hast magnified thy word above all thy name.”
Since I was saved as a child, my soul has experienced a deep longing
to know God and to understand the prophetic Scriptures.
I
know that my love for Bible prophecy triggers an immediately image in
the minds of some people. They think I am strange and that I have
gone off on some wild and insignificant tangent. But we must realize
that Bible prophecy has received an overall bad reputation because of
sensationalist preachers who merely want to attract large crowds and
develop a growing contingent of followers. Too many preachers have
made stupid and unreasonable predictions that have not come true.
Therefore, many people are turned off and turned away from Biblical
prophecy. How sad! Continue reading “January 2019 – Why I Love Biblical Prophecy (Part One)”
“And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.” Jeremiah 30:3
By Mike Wingfield
In our lifetime we have been witnesses to one of the greatest miracles mentioned in the Bible. More than 3,400 years ago, God spoke through Moses to communicate with the community of saints about His eternal plans that would be wrapped up in the one and only nation that He chose as His own – Israel. Before Israel would occupy the Promised Land for the very first time, God declared that the day would come when the Jewish people, because of their sin, would be scattered to the nations of the world (Deuteronomy 28:63-67). Then, amazingly, God promised that He would have compassion upon the Jewish people and call for them to return to their ancient homeland in the last days (Deuteronomy 30:1-5).
In the last 120 years, the world has witnessed the beginning of this amazing miracle. A scattered nation is being restored. An ancient people and an ancient land are being reunited. A dead nation has been resurrected. A dead language has been revived. A desolate land is beginning to live and once again become the land of milk and honey. Ancient ruins are being reconstructed.
Every time I visit Israel, I am reminded that this amazing miracle is happening before our very eyes. I stand in awe of the mercy and faithfulness of my God. He is doing everything He promised He would do in Israel in these last days. I understand that the world does not see nor appreciate the glory of this amazing miracle. However, I am torn when I recognize that so many professing Christians fail to see the hand of God in the ongoing return of the Jewish people to their land. How spiritually blind we must be to not see this miracle!
Let us examine the details of this miracle. Let us glory in the mercy and faithfulness of God. He is revealing Himself to the world at the end of this age as the time of His final judgment upon the nations draws near.
God spoke to Abraham 4,000 years ago and instructed him to leave his home in modern-day Iraq and to go “unto a land that I will [show] thee” (Genesis 12:1). Notice that God selected a people and a land. In His sovereign plan of the ages, God married the Jewish people and their land to each other to reveal Himself to the nations of the world.
Once Abraham arrived in that land, God gave him the following promise, “For all the land which [you see], to [you] will I give it, and to [your] seed for ever. And I will make [your] seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall [your] seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breath of it: for I will give it unto [you]” (Genesis 13:15-17). In this ongoing eternal plan, God has exhibited, from a human perspective, incredible patience. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were collectively strangers and sojourners in this land for 220 years. Then, according to God’s divine plan, a total of 70 Jewish people moved to Egypt and lived there for 430 years, becoming a powerful nation. Finally, after they sinned against God and ended up wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, the Lord fulfilled His promise to Abraham and gave the nation of Israel the Promised Land. Altogether, God waited a total of 690 years to fulfill His promise to Abraham.
The Jewish people lived in the Holy Land for almost 800 years until they were finally driven out by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. After 70 years of exile, a small remnant returned to the Promised Land, and lived there for an additional 600 years until they were driven out by the Romans in 70 A.D. and scattered to the nations of the world.
According to the thinking of some people, this was the end of the Jewish occupation of the Promised Land. However, the Bible gives us overwhelming evidence that during the last days, God will regather His people from all nations and bring them back to their ancient homeland. The Jewish people are coming home and prophecy is being fulfilled every day in the land of Israel.
Let us examine three aspects of this divine work in these last days:
1. The Power of God in Israel’s Ingathering
One of the most awesome displays of the power of God can be seen in the ongoing miracle of the return of the sons of Jacob to the land of their forefathers. An examination of the Scriptures demonstrates that Satan and his demons, and all of the godless nations who have been deceived by him, work feverously to destroy or delay this work of God.
Those who support the devil’s kingdom of darkness know that this divine promise is the foundation of God’s eternal plan for this earth. The return of the Jewish people to their land in the last days is a divine banner that signals to the world that God is sovereign and that His Word is true. Jeremiah wrote, “Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock” (Jeremiah 31:10). Isaiah declared, “And he shall set up an ensign [banner] for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:12).
God has determined that His people and their land will be a divine instrument in His hand to display to the world that He is the Almighty Lord God. According to the Bible, God created the Jewish people and the Land of Israel for His glory. Therefore, His work to scatter them and then restore them in the last days is a mighty miracle to be displayed among the nations. Isaiah proclaimed this in the following words, “But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed [you], I have called [you] by my name; [you] art mine. … Fear not: for I am with [you]: I will bring [your] seed from the east, and gather [you] from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea I have made him. … This people have I formed for myself; they shall [show] forth my praise” (Isaiah 43:1, 5-7, 21). The same three Hebrew words in verse 7 that are translated “created,” “formed,” and “made,” are also a part of description of God’s creative work in the creation account in Genesis 1-2. Hence, the Holy Spirit is pointing out that the regathering of Israel is a supernatural work, just like the creation in the beginning! This is perfectly illustrated in Ezekiel 37. In this chapter, Ezekiel is shown a large valley filled with very old human skeletal remains. According to Ezekiel 37:11, these bones depict the death of the nation of Israel and the scattering of the people to the nations of the world. But amazingly these bones are reconnected and live once again! Notice that Ezekiel reports that it is the word of the LORD that supernaturally causes these bones to live once again. Psalm 33:6 declares, “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.” The language of the miracle of creation in Psalm 33:6 and Ezekiel 37 concerning the resurrection of the nation of Israel is exactly the same.
As mentioned previously, before the nation of Israel occupied the Promised Land the first time under the direction of Joshua, God told Moses that He would drive His people out of the land into the nations of the world. (Deuteronomy 28:63-67) Furthermore, God said He would orchestrate their return to their land in the last days. (Deuteronomy 30:1-5) God used the enemies of Israel to scatter them, and amazingly, He is using the enemies of Israel to regather them today. In the last 120 years, many Jews have returned to the Promised Land because of anti-Semitism, economic hardships, societal collapse, or wars and conflicts in the countries in which they were scattered. God said, “I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it” (Jeremiah 30:3).
Today, there are about 15 million Jews (almost 0.2 percent of the global population) in the world. In 1900, there were only 50,000 Jews living in the Promised Land. Today, 6.6 million Jews (44 percent of the current global Jewish population) live there. In the last 120 years, more than 3.5 million Jews have immigrated to Israel. About 58 percent of Israel’s Jewish population was born in the nation.
According to Wikipedia, Jewish people are still scattered among 118 different countries. Most of the remaining 8.4 million Jews are living in six countries. The United States has 39 percent, France 3.5 percent. Canada 2.7 percent, United Kingdom 2.1 percent, the Russian Federation 1.4 percent, and Argentina 1.3 percent.
I have witnessed the ongoing return of the Jewish people to the land of Israel with my own eyes. I have interviewed many Jewish people and heard their testimonies as to why they decided to immigrate to Israel. I shall never forget several years ago when my Dad went with me to Israel. Russia had just opened its doors to allow the Jewish people to leave and immigrate to Israel. During the last decade of the 20th century, more than 1 million Russian Jews immigrated to Israel. As Dad and I stood in the passport-control line at Ben Gurion airport to enter Israel, we witnessed the arrival of hundreds Russian Jews. They had congregated together in the immigration line only a few feet from where we stood. I told my Dad, “We have not even got out of the airport, and we are already seeing the prophetic hand of God in Israel.” Long ago, the prophet Jeremiah had prophesied that the day would come when the Lord would bring “the children of Israel from the land of the north” and proclaim “I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers” (Jeremiah 16:15). In this text, “the land of the north” is Russia.
2. The Plan of God in Israel’s Ingathering
The Time of Israel’s Return
According to many Scriptures, the Jewish people will return to the land of Israel from their international dispersion in the last days. The Bible indicates that the Jewish people will return to their land from the nations on two different occasions (Isaiah 11:11). The first return was after the Babylonian captivity in the fifth century B.C., as mentioned in the book of Nehemiah. The second and final regathering began in modern times about 120 years ago. According to the prophet Amos, the Jewish people will never be driven out of their land again. The Lord has declared, “And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God(Amos 9:15).
The Conditions of Israel’s Return
The Biblical prophecies indicate that the Jews would initially return to their country in spiritual unbelief. The modern nation of Israel was established in 1948 as a secular state, just as the Scriptures predicted. In Ezekiel 36, the Lord promised that He would return them to their land, and then at a later time, they would spiritually return to Him and be saved (Ezekiel 36:24-29). This two-stage process is illustrated in Ezekiel 37 when the dry bones were first turned into corpses, and then later they came to life. This observation is significant because many who do not recognize the current nation of Israel as a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy do so because they struggle with believing that the present godless, secular nation could be a representation of the divine work of God. However, as just noted, this is exactly what the Scriptures predicted would happen.
The Bible also predicted that when the Jews returned to their homeland, they would be met with great opposition by the surrounding nations in the region (Ezekiel 36:1-7). Ezekiel 36:5 states that it would be “Idumea” that would passionately declare that the land belongs to them. Idumea is the Greek form for the Hebrew name “Edom.” The area of the Edomites is the current country of Jordan, to the east of Israel. About 68 percent of the Jordanian population claim to be Palestinians. How amazing that the Bible would predict that it would be the Palestinians who would violently oppose the return of the Jewish people to their ancient homeland.
Furthermore, the Bible foretold that the land of Israel would be a desolate and barren wasteland that would be miraculously restored to the new Jewish residents in the last days (Ezekiel 36:8, 9, 34, 35). The Bible predicted, “Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit”(Isaiah 27:6). Amazingly, this prediction is coming to pass at this very time. David Dolan, an American believer and journalist living in Jerusalem, writes: “Although over half of its land is still arid desert, Israel exports high-quality farm produce in all seasons, even while its neighbors must import food to feed their populations. …The Israeli people are blessed with one of the most nutritious food supplies in the world. In a recent global survey by the Bloomberg news agency of the world’s healthiest countries, Israel ranked an impressive sixth, far ahead of the United States at number 33.”
The Process of Israel’s Return
As we might expect, the process of the Jewish people’s return to Israel is very specific. The Bible indicates that their return to the land would be assisted by the Gentiles. (Isaiah 49:22, 23) Isaiah 60:10 states, “And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee…” As Americans, we can be proud of many of our former leaders who stood beside of the state of Israel in the last 70 years. President Harry Truman went against the counsel of all of his political advisors when he became the first international leader to recognize the Jewish state on May 14, 1948. The recent recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel by President Donald Trump is being hailed in Israel as one of the most important declarations in the modern history of the state of Israel. Whether the world likes it or not, God is directing our president to bless Israel, just as the prophecies foretold.
According to Daniel 9:27, when the Tribulation Period begins, the Antichrist will confirm a covenant with “the many” [literally Hebrew rendering] Jews in Israel. More Jews live in Israel now than in any other nation. Many more will return to Israel during “the time of Jacob’s trouble” in Tribulation Period (Jeremiah 30:7). When the seven-year Tribulation Period is over, the remainder of the world’s Jewish population will return to Israel. Speaking of this time, God has promised, “I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there [in the nations]” (Ezekiel 39:28). During the millennial kingdom, all Jews will reside in Israel.
3. The Purposes of God in Israel’s Ingathering
To display His glory to the nations
Once again, many people in Christian circles struggle with recognizing that Israel is a divine fulfillment of God’s eternal plans. They fail to grasp that God is not working in the church primarily because of us, but because of who He is! Likewise, the Bible declares that the divine work of restoring the Jewish people and their land in these last days is not something that He is doing for the Jewish people, but for His glory. Carefully consider Ezekiel 36:22-24, “Therefore say unto the house of Israel, thus [said] the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes: O house of Israel, but for [my] holy name’s sake, which [you] have profaned [treated sacrilegiously] among the heathen, whither [you] went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which [you] have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, [said] the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.”
The tiny restored nation of Israel is at the center of the world’s media and political considerations each day. This is amazing since Israel contains less than 0.1 percent of the world’s population and is about the size of the state of New Jersey. Only Washington D.C. contains more international journalists than Jerusalem.
Israel is officially rated as the eighth most influential nation in the world. It is considered to be the eleventh happiest nation on the planet. The Israeli IDF is highly respected as the tenth most powerful military on earth. All of this is amazing considering that the nation is only 70 years old and has been in a state of war and conflict with her neighbors and shunned by the United Nations during her short existence. Obviously, this should be viewed as the divine blessings that rest upon God’s chosen people and His Holy Land. God has kept His promise to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3). He promised the Jewish people who would return to Israel in the last days: “I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and [you] shall know that I am the LORD” (Ezekiel 36:11).
To set the stage for the Kingdom of God on earth
Everything that is happening in Israel today, including the influx of Jews from the nations, should be viewed as a divine process that is laying the groundwork for the approaching millennial kingdom. In Psalm 102, God has sent a very powerful message to the nations in the final generation. Psalm 102:18 says, “This shall be written [for the last generation]…” What is that message? “[You shall] arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favor her, yea, the set time is come. … When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory” (Psalm 102:13, 16).
The multitude of prophetic Scriptures that paint the Biblical picture of the last days displays a world with Israel and her people at the center of the global stage. The Holy One of Israel has uniquely gifted and prepared Israel to be the hub of the world for 1,000 years during the reign of the Messiah, Jesus, from Jerusalem, Israel. Jerusalem and Israel are literally at the geographical center of the land mass of the planet. (Ezekiel 5:5)
To redeem the entire nation of Israel
At the heart of the miraculous return of the Jewish people to their land is the amazing and gracious redemption of the entire nation. When the end comes and all of the Jews go home, they will all call upon the Lord and experience His saving power (Jeremiah 32:37-41; Ezekiel 36:24-28; Zechariah 12:10-13:9; Romans 11:26). “So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, [said] the Lord.” (Isaiah 59:19)
Those who refuse to accept or grasp the central role of Israel and her land have not yet discovered the heart of God and His eternal plan. Near the end of Moses’ life, God caused him to write the following words, “When the Most High [which means ‘the possessor of heaven and earth’- Genesis 14:22] divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. For the LORD’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye” (Deuteronomy 32:8-10).
The God who has announced that His eternal plan will come to pass and no one and nothing can deter Him, has set forth His passionate determination in Isaiah 62:1-7, “For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that [burns]. And the Gentiles shall see [your] righteousness, and all kings [your] glory: and [you shall] be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. [You shall] also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. [You shall] no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall [your] land any more be termed Desolate: but [you shall] be called Hephzibah, and [your] land Beulah: for the Lord [delights] in [you], and [your] land shall be married. For as a young man [marries] a virgin, so shall [your] sons marry [you]: and as the bridegroom [rejoices] over the bride, so shall [your] God rejoice over [you]. I have set watchmen upon [your] walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: [you] that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”
As finite creatures of time living in the 21st century, we are so focused upon this moment of our lives that we have lost sight of eternity. God does not live in a time bubble like us. He is eternal. “One day is with the LORD as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8). In God’s eternal plan, the time has come for the greatest miracle in the world to unfold before our eyes. Are we so blind as to not see the hand of God?
The ingathering of the Jewish people tells us that the king is coming. With the return of each Jewish person to Israel we are getting closer and closer to the day of the Lord. Are you ready?
America – Divided by Hate
We are living in dangerous times in America. As I look at the Bible and understand the times in which we are living, I am fearful for the future of our nation. It is apparent that a very vocal and militant minority in America are filled with hate. On the surface it appears their hatred is racially or politically motivated. However, if you listen to them and their message of hate, they may not know it, but their hatred is flowing out of a heart that despises God and all that is good in the eyes of God.
While describing a culture that has reached the spiritual point of no return, the Apostle Paul concluded in Romans 1:29-31 that such people are immoral, wicked and malicious. They also have an entitlement mentality. Furthermore, they are filled with envy, murder and strife. Their minds are continually filled with evil. These people are also filled with pride. They are vocally brazen, unforgiving and unmerciful. Most significantly, they are “haters of God” (verse 30).
In a similar passage, the Apostle Paul writes that the last days will be “perilous” because people are in love with self (2 Timothy 3:1, 2). This certainly describes the days in which we live. The seeds of humanism (the belief that man is the center of our world) have been sown in America for decades. However, now we are experiencing humanism on steroids. We have produced a generation that has moved beyond humanism to “me-ism (the belief that self is the center of their world). It is all about “my” personal rights. I am convinced that this is what is driving all of the violence and hatred at this hour.
In 2 Timothy 3:1-9, the Bible describes these people as those who are in love with possessions and pleasure. They rebel against all authority. They are unthankful and unloving. They refuse to forgive. They love to slander people. They are brutal and haughty. They constantly blaspheme God and are “despisers of those that are good” (verse 3). Does that sound familiar?
These two passages fittingly describe what is currently taking place in the American culture. A crusade against God and good is moving across America. The moral laws of decency that have governed this nation for hundreds of years are being openly ridiculed and rejected. Those who continue to hold to the Biblical commandments are hated.
The kind of self-love that the Bible speaks about in 2 Timothy 3 produces lawlessness. When people put self first, they become a law unto themselves. They make up the rules of law that protect their own rights and pleasures. They do not care about what their parents say. The rules at school, work, or in the community or nation do not matter. Self becomes god and god makes the rules.
According to the Bible, at the heart of the 10 Commandments is a respect and honor for God and mankind. While summarizing these commandments, Jesus said, the first commandment is to love God. The second is, “Love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:39).
The kind of hatred and threats that are being directed toward President Trump, his family, and his associates are frightening! In recent days, the media and TV personalities have made absurd and exaggerated accusations against the political right. They are resorting to lies and deception to promote their hate. We may not agree with each other, but there is no excuse for the lying and threats that are being made. Believers should not be a part of this kind of behavior. Jesus taught us, “love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44).
I want to remind us all that Satan is the father of lies and murder. In John 8:44, Jesus called Satan “a murderer from the beginning,” and “a liar, and the father of it.” The kind of lies and slanders that are being passionately paraded across the political spectrum in America are sowing the seeds of a deadly revolution. These are the same kinds of lies that have been levied against the Jewish people and the nation of Israel for years. These slanderous lies have fueled the deadly scourge of anti-Semitism that is growing around the globe.
It is my observation that Satan is doing everything He can to destroy the United States and Israel. These two nations are the only two nations holding back Satan’s plans for his evil kingdom of darkness to take control of this planet under the leadership of the lawless one – the Antichrist.
According to the Scriptures, Israel will not be destroyed. The Jewish nation will be protected by God. However, there is no mention of the U.S. in the prophetic Scriptures. Is America about to fall? Remember that Jesus said that a “house divided against itself shall not stand” (Matthew 12:25).
“And I will [show] wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.” Joel 2:30-31
By Mike Wingfield
People around the globe, are being confronted with the reality that our planet is experiencing an unusual increase in volcanic activity. Kilauea on the big Hawaiian island continues to erupt at this time, showing no signs of decreasing activity. In addition, several news sources indicate that “A rising blob of hot rock recently detected under Vermont suggests the region might not be as stable as scientists once thought.” (www.newsweek.com, December 19, 2017) Geologists are reporting that there does not seem to be any concern this super volcano under the New England area will erupt any time soon. In addition to these volcanoes, for several years now, a few geologists have had a growing concern that one of the world’s largest dormant volcanoes may be showing signs of rumbling back to life. This super volcano is located in Yellowstone National Park, which covers portions of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Yellowstone has witnessed an increase in earthquake swarms and eruptions of geysers that indicate geothermal activity is increasing in the area. If this volcano were to have a major eruption, it would radically change the course of modern history on a global scale for many years. Once again, geologists are telling the public there is no reason for alarm. They claim that all of their studies indicate this volcano will not experience another major eruption for thousands or tens of thousands of years.
While we witness this increase in volcanic activity, those of us who know the prophetic Scriptures need to remind ourselves and others that these secular scientists are the same ones who deny that God created the world. They also deny the solid physical evidence of the horrific consequences of the global flood in the days of Noah, which was accompanied by massive geological upheaval. Furthermore, they do not have a clue concerning the approaching geological cataclysm the Bible predicts will take place in the last days. Let us examine the evidence.
What is a volcano and why do they erupt in certain locations?
Scientists have identified about 1,500 land volcanoes around the world. It is believed there are many more volcanoes in the deep canyons of the oceans. Of these known volcanoes, only about 550 are active. In the last few months, 35-50 of these volcanoes have erupted simultaneously. For several decades, an average of 25 volcanoes erupted at the same time. So this indicates an increase in volcanic activity.
Volcanoes are extremely powerful catastrophic events. For example, when Mount Saint Helens (a category 5 volcano) erupted on May 18, 1980, it released 24 megatons of energy. That is equal to the energy released by 1,200 nuclear bombs like those dropped on Hiroshima, Japan to end WW II. Consequently, we should be reminded that God has much more power at His disposal in His creation than man does with his feeble nuclear arsenal. The sheer volume of energy that will be released when the global earthquakes and volcanic eruptions strike this planet during the Tribulation Period is beyond anything we can begin to imagine.
According to scientific data, the earth is about 4,000 miles from the surface to its center core. The crust of the earth, which contains dirt and rocks, is only 5-25 miles thick. Just below the crust of the earth are thousands of miles of a deep ocean of hot flowing magma (liquid rock). Closer to the crust of the earth the temperatures of the magma are between 1,600 and 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit. It is believed that temperatures at the core of the earth could be around 18,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Earth’s crust is literally floating on a deep ocean of magma inside of the earth. This could be compared to ice on a lake during the winter. The crust has a multitude of fractures that form what are called tectonic plates. Think of this being like the cracks in the shell of a hard-boiled egg. Picture those pieces of the egg shells like the plates in the earth’s crust. Some are small and some are larger. These fractures are weak places in the crust where most earthquakes and volcanoes occur. There is an enormous amount of pressure in the interior of the earth due to earth’s gravitational forces. Obviously, this internal force is always pushing the magma to find the weakest area in the crust. When this takes place, the pressure causes an eruption on the surface of the earth, releasing steam and magma from inside the earth. This is the mechanism that creates volcanoes.
How are volcanoes described in the Bible?
The word volcano does not appear in the Bible because this word was only coined about 400 years ago. However, the Bible does mention volcanoes by describing their eruption features. The Bible describes volcanoes as blood, fire, pillars of smoke, and brimstone. For example, in Joel 2:30-31, God says: “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.” While speaking about destroying an invading army against Israel, God said in Ezekiel 38:22: “And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.”
In the Bible, magma is described as the blood of the earth. The Hebrew word for dirt is “adama.” The word for blood is “dam.” Therefore, according to the original language of the Bible, one can see the word blood in the word for dirt or earth. For example, Isaiah 26:21 says: “For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.”
The following description by geologist Mike Strickler supports the biblical view of earth’s magma: “Basaltic magma is like the blood of the earth – it’s what comes out when the earth’s skin is cut the whole way through. …The earth as an ecosystem is analogous to the human body.” (www.stanfordbloodcenter.org/between_a_rock_1/) Under our skin is a red flowing substance called blood. In a similar way, just below the crust of the earth is a red flowing substance called magma.
Volcanoes are also described in the Bible as fire and pillars of smoke. Anyone who has seen the eruption of a volcano can understand that this is a perfect description of a volcanic eruption. The extremely hot magma burns everything it comes in contact with. Many times, when volcanoes erupt, the eruption is accompanied by ash that isblown upward with terrific force into the upper atmosphere. It certainly looks like smoke coming out of a furnace. Compare this with Revelation 9:2: “And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.”
The Bible also describes volcanoes with the word “brimstone.” Brimstone is a yellow-colored stone that contains sulfur. Sulfur is one of the main components of magma that forms the rocks that accompany a volcanic eruption. Archeologists have found great amounts of sulfur rocks at the destruction sight of Sodom and Gomorrah. (www.biblicalscholarship.com) These stones give testimony to the sudden geological upheaval that took place in this region when God destroyed the wicked cities in this region with “brimstone and fire.”(Genesis 19:24)
Are volcanoes a part of God’s divine judgment during the end-times?
According to the Bible, our earth is moving toward major geological upheaval that will alter the planet for God’s future purposes. According to Psalm 102:25-26, the heavens and earth are growing “old like a garment.” This means that God is actively exercising His sovereign control so that the earth will geologically deteriorate, gradually breaking up like a garment, just as He planned before the foundation of the world. That means that the tectonic plates of the earth will continue to become more fragile, so that earthquakes and volcanoes will increase in frequency and intensity. This is exactly what Jesus said about the last days. While speaking about the signs of the Tribulation Period, Jesus said: “And great earthquakes shall be in [different] places.”(Luke 21:11) An examination of a geological map showing earthquakes and volcanic eruptions indicates that they are occurring along the fractures of the tectonic plates. Historical statistical data indicate that earthquakes and volcanoes are increasing in frequency and intensity.
Near the beginning of the Tribulation Period, a massive global earthquake will trigger colossal volcanic eruptions. “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood …” (Revelation 6:12) Notice that this verse demonstrates that the earthquake created a condition where the sun and moon were darkened, which is the language describing the result of volcanic ash being blown up into the upper atmosphere.
As previously mentioned, enormous geological upheaval was a part of God’s judgment of the earth in the days of the global flood in Noah’s time. God told Noah: “I will destroy them with the earth.”(Genesis 6:13)Genesis 7:11 and 8:2, report that God broke up “the fountains of the great deep” during the 40-day period of judgment. God used His power of nature to unleash His wrath in the past, and according to the Apostle Peter, He will do it again. “Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”(2 Peter 3:6-7)
During the Tribulation Period, numerous volcanic eruptions will spew large volumes of ash into the upper atmosphere. This ash will gradually collect to form thick clouds that will block the sunlight during the day and the moonlight during the night. Early in the Tribulation Period, the ash will cause one-third of the inhabitants on earth to be in the dark during normal daylight hours. (Revelation 8:7, 12) This thick cloud will continue to grow as ash continues to pour out of volcanoes during the Tribulation. By the end of this 7-year period the entire earth will be enveloped in an eerie darkness. (Revelation 16:10) While speaking about the time of His revelation at the end of the Tribulation Period, Jesus said: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light..” (Matthew 24:29) The prophet Joel describes this unique period of time as: “A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness…”(Joel 2:2)
Many Biblical texts indicate that the land of Israel will be the center of divine geological catastrophes. At the heart of this geological activity will be one of the most dangerous earthquake fault lines in the world – the Syrian/African Rift Valley. This fault line travels from Lebanon through the Jordan Valley into the Sea of Galilee, then down the Jordan Valley through the Dead Sea, and continues through the Arava Valley and the Red Sea into Kenya. This deadly fault line is where two major tectonic plates (the African Plate and the Arabian Plate) collide with each other. This fault line has been the location of many geological disasters in Biblical history and will play a major role in God’s judgments in the end times. Geologists in Kenya were greatly puzzled that this rift valley started to split open a few months. During the first 10 days of July, there were 10 earthquakes at the Sea of Galilee and several earthquakes at the southern end of the Dead Sea. Geologists in Israel are warning their government that it is time to prepare for the big quake that is coming in Israel.
When Russia and Iran and their Magog coalition invade Israel in the future, Israel will experience a major earthquake that will trigger some or all of the 15 dormant volcanoes that dot the landscape of the Golan Heights in Israel and Syria to erupt. (Ezekiel 38:18-22) With Russia, Iran, and Turkey already in Syria, and the earthquake activity in the Galilee area, it appears that things are shaping up for the fulfillment of this prophecy.
At the end of the Tribulation Period, a series of geological catastrophes will take place around Jerusalem, which is only 14 miles from the Great Rift Valley. The gigantic earthquake mentioned in Revelation16:18 at Christ’s return will trigger a major volcanic eruption on the Golan Heights and Galilee area that will create a river of magma that will flow down the Jordan Valley to the level of a horse’s bridle. Understanding that the blood in Revelation 14:14-20 is the blood of the earth helps to solve a riddle that has puzzled Bible students for hundreds of years. This also helps to explain the nature of the mysterious death of the Antichrist’s army as described in Zechariah 14:12: “And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.” This is a perfect description of what happens when human flesh comes into contact with magma.
This same earthquake will split the Mount of Olives and lift up Jerusalem, exposing a major water aquifer that will produce a river that will flow out of the Temple Mount. (Zechariah 14:4-10; Joel 3:18; Ezekiel 47:1-12) At this same time, this earthquake along the Rift Valley will force the huge water aquifer under the Arava Valley to be lifted up so that it will flood the desert. Then, the prophecy of Isaiah about the desert will be fulfilled. “The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose [actual Hebrew word indicates this flower will be a water lily] … [and] in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.”(Isaiah 35:1, 6-7)
What are God’s purposes behind the geological cataclysm in the last days?
The Lord will unleash numerous global earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis during the end-times. Why? There are at least three major reasons for all of the geological calamities at the end of this age. First, as in the days of Noah, God will unleash His fury against the wickedness of man. Isaiah wrote: “For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.” (Isaiah 26:21) Mankind would do well to know that God is not ignoring the daily acts of violence and rebellion against Him and His law. I am often reminded of the fact that more people live on earth now than at any other time in the history of the planet. There are currently 7.6 billion people on earth. Many of them will die as a result of the carnage of the Antichrist’s wars. The Antichrist and his demonic kingdom will “devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.”(Daniel 7:23) However, the majority of the world’s population will die as a result of the horrific judgments of God’s wrath poured out upon the entire earth. God revealed to the prophet Isaiah that as a result of the global geological disasters, “the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.”(Isaiah 24:6) The entire 24th chapter of Isaiah gives a detailed description of the geological holocaust that will unfold during the 7-year Tribulation Period. Isaiah 24:19 says: “The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is [thoroughly cracked], the earth is moved exceedingly.”
The second major purpose for the geological upheaval of the Tribulation Period will be to prepare the earth, and especially Israel and Jerusalem, for their role during the millennial kingdom. The earth’s surface before the flood did not have high mountains and deep valleys. “Mountains were relatively low and ocean beds relatively shallow as compared with present conditions.” (John W. Whitcomb, Jr. & Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Flood, p. 268) As a result of the geological upheaval during the time of the flood, the earth’s surface was radically altered. Before the flood the earth was probably one big land mass that made it possible for all of the land animals to travel to the ark. The prophetic Scriptures indicate that the geological destruction of the Tribulation Period will probably return the earth’s topography back to the way it was before the great global flood in Noah’s time. Isaiah points to this in his revelation about the kingdom: “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.” (Isaiah 40:4) The Tribulation Period will end with the most powerful earthquake in the history of planet earth. John describes this earthquake in Revelation 16:18: “and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.” As a result of this earthquake “every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.”(Revelation 16:20) This certainly speaks of the formation of a uniform global topography, much like the earth’s topography before the global flood.
The third divine purpose for the geological upheaval of the Tribulation Period is to glorify God and force man to be humbled before the Him. In Isaiah 2:10-22, Isaiah repeatedly states that the Lord will arise “to shake terribly the earth.” (Isaiah 2:19, 21) In this passage he declares the intended divine results. It will be “for the glory of [God’s] majesty.” (Isaiah 2:10, 19, 21) And, “the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.”(Isaiah 2:11, 17) In this same passage, the prophet repeatedly states that the Lord will shake the earth in order to humble man and to destroy his pride and arrogance.
At the end of this age, many of the inhabitants of earth are living in luxury. We have become very dependent upon our utility systems, transportation systems, creature comforts, the abundance and variety of food, entertainment opportunities, and communication systems. For many, they are so independent and comfortable that they think they do not need God. Therefore, abruptly, and without warning “sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape.”(1 Thessalonians 5:3) Suddenly, life will take a horrific turn that will leave most of these people in life-threatening circumstances.
I am convinced that Psalm 46 has been written for those who will be living through the geological upheaval of the Tribulation Period. This psalm talks about a time when “the earth be removed”(verse 2), “the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea”(verse 2), “the waters thereof roar and be troubled” (verse 3), and “the earth melted”(verse 6). Finally, the psalmist exclaims: “Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.”(verse 8) After all of this, God declares: “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”(verse 10)
During the Tribulation Period, God will strip away all of the forms of man’s modern lifestyle. Mankind will be forced to either shake his fist at God in defiant rebellion, or humble himself and be still and know that He is God. We know what they did in the days of Noah and we know what they will do in the future. They will blaspheme God and die in their sin. (Revelation 16:11)
As volcanoes continue to erupt around the world, let us keep listening for the shout that will take us out!
future, Israel will experience a major earthquake that will trigger some or all of the 15 dormant volcanoes that dot the landscape of the Golan Heights in Israel and Syria to erupt.