Eric Casagrande     /         Genelyn Novabos

 

 

Earthquakes & Hurricanes:  God’s Judgment?

  

The day after a devastating 7.0 earthquake rocked the poverty stricken nation of Haiti, a well-known religious television personality came on the air and promptly declared it to be a judgment from God … allegedly the result of some voodoo-type covenant the people of Haiti cut with the devil, more than two hundred years earlier. He mentioned that, on the other side of the island, the Dominican Republic was prosperous, healthy, and full of resorts. 

What he failed to note, was that the “prosperous and healthy” Dominican Republic, is also quite well-known for its prostitution, human-trafficking, drug dealings, and gambling casinos. Additionally, it has twice the crime rate as Haiti, and is also involved – to one extent or another – in voodoo.

Prosperity alone isn’t solid evidence of a proper relationship with God.

A little over six weeks later, another massive earthquake struck, this time in Chile, registering 8.8 on the Richter scale. Once again, the acidic rhetoric spewed out from many who professed to be “Christians” around the globe, claiming this just had to be another judgment from God, who was angrily responding to the sins of the nation.

You see my friends, it’s far easier to explain away the world’s problems by pointing to a vengeful, anger-driven God (whom many Christians just don’t understand), than it is to spend the time considering what the Bible has to say about these issues – especially as reflected in the life of Jesus Christ.

I would like to submit the following evidence for your consideration, which clearly does not support the false teachings that God was responsible for sending those disasters.

 

EXHIBIT “A“ 

Do you recall the disaster that befell a group of Galilaeans?  Well after undoubtedly torturing them, Pilate ended the grand spectacle by putting them to death, then mixing their blood with the sacrifices he offered to idols.

Believe it or not, several of those following Jesus at the time were rather outspoken in their belief this horrific tragedy was a direct judgment from God, as a result of their sinful hearts.

But what did Jesus have to say about it (Luke 13: 1-3)?

 

“There were present at that season some that told Him

of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled

with their sacrifices.

 

And Jesus, answering, said unto them: Do you

suppose that these Galilaeans were sinners

above all the Galilaeans, because they

suffered such things?

 

I tell you, NO, but except you repent, you

shall all likewise perish.“

 

My friends, it seems that Jesus quickly gave a strong rebuke to this type of religious nonsense, stating emphatically that God was not the source of this unfortunate event, and niether had it anything to do with hidden sin. 

 

EXHIBIT “B“

This brings us to the infamous tower of Siloam, which had collapsed to the ground, killing eighteen people. Apparently there were a few disciples who swore this accident was no accident at all, but had been micromanaged by God for some unrepentant sin.

But again - what did Jesus have to say about it (Luke 13: 4-5)?

 

“Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell,

and slew them, Do you think they were sinners

above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?

 

I tell you, NO, but except you repent, you shall

all likewise perish.“

 

Once more, Jesus delivers a very stinging blow to the religious idea that God had somehow caused the tower to fall, sending eighteen innocent victims to their untimely deaths. He makes it perfectly clear this was not the work of God.

Do you see where this is going, my friends? God is a good God!

 

EXHIBIT “C“

Here the disciples pass a blind man in the road, and instantly begin a very heated debate about who was responsible for his blind condition. Some of them believed it was a judgment of God for a transgression committed by the man – while the rest opined it was a sign of God’s judgment for the sins of his parents. 

It seems, however, that Jesus had a different opinion (John 9: 1-3)!

 

“And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man

which was blind from his birth.

 

And his disciples asked him, saying,

Master, who did sin, this man or  his

parents, that he was born blind? 

  

Jesus answered, Neither has this man

sinned, nor his parents: but that the works

of God should be manifest in him.“

 

You see, my friends, Jesus didn’t go for any of their sacred cow notions that painted God as nothing but an evil, sadistic tyrant, who was sitting on the edge of His throne, just waiting for an opportunity … hoping somebody would slip up, so He could fire off a lightning bolt and ruin their life forever.

Yet this is exactly how many born-again Christians, view God today!

 

EXHIBIT “D“

On this occasion, Jesus was headed toward the city of Jerusalem. The time of his crucifixion was near at hand. While making His way through one of the Samaritan villages, Jesus sent a few messengers on ahead to secure their lodging for the night. But the Samaritans, knowing his final destination to be Jerusalem, refused to cooperate.

Upon discovering this “sin” by a people the Jews viewed as incorrigible, James and John reacted by demanding that Jesus give the “green light” for them to signal God to send down judgment, and kill every one of them!

But what did Jesus have to say about it (Luke 9: 54-56)?

 

“And when His disciples James and John saw

this, they said: Lord, do you want us to

command fire come down from heaven and

consume them, even as Elijah did?

 

But Jesus turned and rebuked them, and said:

You don’t know what manner of spirit you are of.

 

For the Son of Man is not come to destroy

men’s lives, but to save them.  And they

went to another village.“

 

Isn’t that interesting! Not only did Jesus debunk their religious ideologies, but He says that He didn’t come to destroy men’s lives (because of sin), but to save them (from their sin). Then He simply went on to find lodging in one of the other villages. There was no fire, no tsunami, and no hurricane. It was only the love and mercy we’d expect from a God of grace.

 

EXHIBIT “E“

Here we see the religious leaders of the time (who believed they could be saved by their own effort, in the keeping of the Mosaic Law), dragging a young woman in humiliation, through the dusty streets of Jerusalem.

According to the story, these religious leaders have somehow managed to accidentally catch her in the very act of adultery.

Shoving her roughly to the ground at the feet of Jesus, they reminded Him in detail of the Mosaic Law, which demanded a judgment be rendered, on account of her terrible sin (John 8: 4-5).

 

“They said unto him, Master, this woman was taken

in adultery, in the very act.

 

Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such

should be stoned: But what do you say?“

 

Well … what did Jesus have to say about this situation (John 8: 7)?

 

“So when they continued asking him, he lifted up

himself, and said unto them: Let he among you

that is without sin, throw the first stone.“

 

There was a rather lengthy pause, followed by the sound of multiple thuds, as the deadly projectiles were dropped to the ground, one after another, and each of the woman’s accusers beat a hasty retreat, being convicted by their own conscience.

Jesus finally glanced over at the embarassed woman, of whom the law had – without mercy – condemned to death (John 8: 10-11):

 

“When Jesus had lifted himself up, and saw none but

the woman, he said unto her: Woman, where are your

accusers? Has no man condemned you?

 

She said: No man, Lord. And Jesus said to her:

Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.“

 

According to the Mosaic Law, the woman deserved to be put to death. But instead, she received what she didn’t deserve - LIFE – from the One who was destined to offer up His own life for all of mankind!

Oh Hallelujah!

My friends, I have one last bit of evidence to submit before you today.

 

EXHIBIT “F“

Despite having done no wrong. Despite never transgressing even one of the laws of God, Jesus found Himself being condemned to death. Beaten mercilessly and spat upon, He was forced to wear a crown of thorns that dug into His head. While the blood gushed from every point on His body, He was stripped naked in front of the entire city, and cruelly nailed to a wooden cross.

What a terrible scene! An innocent man being executed for the crimes of another.  Surely Jesus would call out for some type of judgment from God against these sinners. Perhaps a hurricane, or maybe a tsunami, or better yet – an earthquake! Those always made a big impression. It would teach them a lesson that wouldn’t be quickly forgotten.

But my friends, there was no devastating hurricane, and neither did any gigantic fireball come blazing down from heaven. Instead, here is what took place (Luke 23: 33-34):

 

“And when they were come to the place, which is

called Calvary [Golgotha], there they crucified

Him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand

and the other on the left.

 

Then said Jesus: Father, forgive them. For they

don’t know what they are doing. And they

parted his raiment, and cast lots.“

 

Imagine … it’s the darkest moment in the entire history of mankind. Yet amazingly, there is not one angry thought towards us while the nails rip through his hands and feet. Instead, He pleads for our forgiveness, and absorbs the entire wrath and judgment of Almighty God, against sin.

 

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes

away the sin of the world.“

- John 1: 29

 

Jesus Christ did not make a partial payment on all the sins of mankind. Nor did He make a full payment on just some of the sins of mankind. He made a complete payment, for all the transgressions, of all mankind.

My friends, if this is not the case … if there is some loophole … if there is any sin for which Christ did not make a full and complete payment, then He is nothing but a fraud laying dead within a tomb, and as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15: 17-18, we are yet dead in our sins, and our faith is in vain.

God did not send either the Haitian or Chilean earthquakes as some kind of vendetta for a sin debt that has already been paid - many times over -through Jesus Christ at the cross.

This is without doubt a huge misrepresentation of the Gospel.

The fact is, we’re all living in a flawed world. It’s a flawed world that groans and cries out for the full redemption, where there will be a new heaven and a new earth. Until that happens, we are living in an imperfect world where earthquakes, and hurricanes, and tsunamis, are a part of that flaw.

To confess faith in what Jesus Christ did at the cross, yet boldly proclaim that God is somehow still judging the sins of mankind, is just not Biblically compatible. At the very least, it shows a severe lack of understanding in God’s plan of salvation, and the finished work of Christ at the cross.

While there will definitely be a judgment to come, nevertheless it will never be for the sins of which Christ has already made complete payment at the cross. What it will be for, however, is the rejection of Jesus Christ.

  

 

 

 

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