The River Replaces The Sea
By Thomas Cosmades
We are quavering at the ravaging Tsunami in the
Indian Ocean which is termed as the fourth major earthquake since the recording
of quakes began. It is called the
topmost and costliest natural disaster in the turbulent history of our shaking
planet. Imagine for a moment the
measure of indignation had the wretched Bin Laden staged something similar to
it. But thanks be to God in heaven that
millions of Osamas could not have orchestrated a disaster of such magnitude. We can take comfort that the cold-blooded
Bin Laden cannot execute even an infinitesimal measure of what we are
witnessing nowadays.
Grumblings are heard against the United States’
warning system in Hawaii for not informing nations around the Bay of Bengal
that a Tsunami was on its way carrying calamity and devastation. Those readily jumping into this sort of
accusation are apparently incapable of figuring out the logistics of
forecasting the portent of this far-reaching magnitude. The United States and Japan have a
well-placed warning system about the activity of Tsunamis in the Pacific
Ocean. There is no such alarm system
anywhere else.
Two thousand years ago the Word Incarnate walked and
talked on our fallen planet where he had come for the redemption of man, nature
and everything else -- this earth that bore the marks of corruption and its
associated destruction. On a certain
occasion a group of inquirers expressed their puzzlement at why Pilate mingled
the blood of some Galileans with their sacrifices. Christ’s reply was authoritative and conclusive: “Do you
think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans,
because they suffered in this way? I
tell you, No; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Following
this explanation, he referred to another distressing incident about eighteen
people upon whom the tower of Siloam had fallen, killing them all. “Do you think,” He said, “they were worse offenders than all the others who
dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, No; but
unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:1-5). This is the alarm signal to everyone living in this
brief life.
A well-known preacher used this reminder when those
passenger planes employed as missiles in the devilish control of depraved
reprobates targeted the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. His reminder was interpreted as an offence
to decency at a time of great grief.
One wonders what sort of warning our generation expects. What kind of
advice can spare us from devastation in this catastrophe-prone earth? What sort of awakening will spare us
lethargic people from the destruction that can come upon us at any given
moment?
Among the many warnings foretold by Christ are that
there will be earthquakes in various places in the last days (cf. Matt.
24:7; Mark 13:8; Luke 21:11). On a certain occasion the Almighty God used an
earthquake to vindicate his apostles, Paul and Silas, who had been thrown into
prison. As a result, the jailor along
with his household believed in Jesus Christ.
They became members of the first church in Macedonia (cf. Acts
16:26). The current heart-rending disaster in Asia is called Apocalyptic (revealing).
This is the name of the last book of the New Testament, Apocalypsis (Revelation).
It is not extraordinary that ‘earthquake’ is mentioned in Revelation in
the following passages: 6:12; 8:5;
11:13, 19; 16:18. In this last earthquake that shook everybody the
onslaught of sea waters became so ferocious as to kill nearly 200,000 people
and devastated the beautiful coastlands of many touristic regions (cf. Rev.
8:10, 11; 14:7; 16:4, 5). In these passages the characterization of waters in
God’s eschatological design is succinctly described. Furthermore, the blowing of the trumpet by the second angel
presages extraordinary happenings in the oceanic domain (cf. 8:8,
9). The horrifying Tsunami brings to mind some of the mythological epics of
the ancients’ depicting the fierce battles between land and sea. The sea symbolizes evil. Most of us have seen and continue to see the
horrors on our TV screen; first the sea peculiarly retreating, followed by a
frightening series of tidal waves savagely rushing onto land, carrying
destruction and death in its wake.
These are scenes we will never forget to our dying day.
The horrifying list of catastrophic earthquakes since
this fearsome event started being recorded was described on the radio. It gave all who heard it the creeps. The person who can look into the matter
meaningfully and eschatologically can derive great lessons from it. The interested individual may look into any
resource to find out for him/herself about this disquieting phenomenon which is
becoming more intense as time goes on.
In his enumeration of eschatological events, Jesus
Christ spoke about great earthquakes.
Students of seismology verify the expansive intensity of quakes. Many
are talking about the necessity of an early warning system everywhere. We have already referred to Christ’s alarm
bell. In sad sequence to his solemn
warnings unfolding heaven’s realities, a distressing extrapolation comes to
everyone’s attention: “The fifth angel poured his bowl… men…again cursed
the God of heaven for their pains and sores and did not repent of their deeds”
(Rev. 16:10, 11).
The traumatic calamity which affected three continents and eleven countries
brought deep grief to the hearts of alert Christians everywhere. All events in our global village are
immediately transmitted to every corner of the earth. Our anguish coupled by intercession is focused on man’s awareness
of his destiny, death and doom. We saw
bereaved people in Sri Lanka praying to a bust of Buddha. In Aceh, Sumatra, a
whole city was totally flattened while a huge, ornate mosque stood
unscathed. Hindu pilgrims who only
minutes before were celebrating in front of an altar in Tamil Nadu state,
India, were wiped out. Destroyed churches could also be seen here and
there. In this immense region people
from every faith had their share of indescribable torment and destruction. And lest we forget, there were lots of
tourists from the post-Christian west: Germany, the Scandinavian countries, the
British Isles, Netherlands, France, Belgium, etc. These descended from Christian heritage. Many of them came to be identified with a
pagan life-style, having little to do with God or the Incarnation of Christ,
i.e., the message of Christmas.
The tourists who managed to escape or were rescued
and flown to their countries had deep sorrow and shock reflected on their
faces. Others of their countrymen had
perished without a trace. None of them
had any clue of what was to come upon them.
From a different perspective, to learn of the necessity of salvation and
the sober warning of judgment, they could have read in the Gospel of Luke about
Christ’s birth in Bethlehem who came to be identified with them. God’s Son, man’s only hope, has largely been
excluded from thought and talk. Many of
this generation are unwilling to hear about God’s redemption and His just
retribution. The stench of death is
everywhere and is going to continue for some time.
The dreadful images before us these days ought to
remind the true believer to commit him/herself to Christ’s commandment for bold
evangelism. He continues to warn
everyone still alive about the judgment to come. What happened in the region of
the vast Indian Ocean is a reminder of Christ’s timeless warning system. In this age of post-modernism we need to be
aware of Christ’s commission as we reach for our checkbooks for relief aid to
sufferers and to declare the good news to a generation striving to exist under
the shadow of death.
We all witnessed what the deadly sea brought about,
feeling deeply crushed by what we saw.
In the midst of our sorrow we are cheered with the following message: “Then I saw
a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and first earth had passed
away, and the sea was no more” (Rev.
21:1). Yes, there is no more sea in the new heaven and
earth. God’s aim of regeneration (palingenesia
-- cf. Matthew 19:28; Isaiah 65:17) >is
an entirely perfect creation.
Furthermore, our attention is directed to this: “Then he showed me the river of the
water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the
Lamb” (Rev. 22:1). No more sea!
Instead, the River of the Water of Life and the Tree of Life. Is your share secure in this majestic city
of which the builder and maker is God and its citizens are the blood-bought
number?
“See that
you do not refuse him who is speaking.
For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on
earth, much less shall we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. His voice then shook the earth; but now he
has promised, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the
heaven.’ This phrase, ‘Yet once more,’
indicates the removal of what is shaken, as of what has been made, in order
that what cannot be shaken may remain.
Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be
shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and
awe; for our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:25-29).
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