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The Reformation Herald Online Edition

It's Time for Jesus to Come!

The Time of Your Visitation: The Earth Trembling!
Part 1
[Emphasis added throughout.]
Septimiu D. Muresan

The Bible mentions a few earthquakes, such as the following:

At the death of our Lord Jesus:

“And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom” (Mark 15:37, 38).

“Now when the centurionsaw the earthquake, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, , and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God” (Matthew 27:54).

At the resurrection of our Lord Jesus:

“And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it” (Matthew 28:2).

In Philippi for Paul and Silas:

“And suddenly there was a great earthquakethe foundations of the prison were shaken, so that : and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed” (Acts 16:26).

On that occasion, the jailer “had expected to hear from them bitter groans and imprecations, but he heard instead songs of joy and praise. With these sounds in his ears awakened by the earthquakethe jailer had fallen into a sleep from which he was and the shaking of the prison walls.”1

“At midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that thefoundations of the prison were shaken; and I saw that immediately the angel of God loosed everyone’s bands.”2

The very first sign when the sixth seal was opened (Lisbon 1755):

“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seala great earthquake, and, lo, there was ; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood” (Revelation 6:12).

The last plague at the end is marked by the mightiest earthquake ever:

“And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. . . . And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found” (Revelation 16:18, 20).

I. What causes earthquakes?

The wrath of a merciful, longsuffering God, that has been ignored and mocked:

“The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquakeThe Lord will roar from Zion,. And he said, and utter his voice from Jerusalem” (Amos 1:1, 2).

“Behold, the day of the Lord cometh,ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. . . . And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee” (Zechariah 14:1, 5).

Angels cause some earthquakes:

“In the prison at Philippi, while suffering from the cruel stripes they had received, their feet fast in the stocks, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praise to God; and angels were sent from heaven to deliver them. The earth shook under the tread of these heavenly messengers, and the prison doors flew open, setting the prisoners free.”3

Satan is producing some earthquakes . . .

“While appearing to the children of men as a great physician who can heal all their maladies, [Satan] will bring disease and disaster, until populous cities are reduced to ruin and desolation. Even now he is at work. In accidents and calamities by sea and by land, in great conflagrations, in fierce tornadoes and terrific hailstorms, in tempests, floods, cyclones, tidal waves, and earthquakes, in every place and in a thousand forms, Satan is exercising his power.”4

II. The judgments of God to arouse the conscience

The significance of the earthquakes,

“We see and hear of confusion and perplexity, want and famine, earthquakes and floods; terrible outrages will be committed by men; passion, not reason, bears sway. The wrath of Godthe inhabitants of the world,as corrupt as were the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah is upon who are fast becoming .”5

“I am bidden to declare the message that cities full of transgression, and sinful in the extreme, will be destroyed by earthquakes, by fire, by flood.”6

The judgment of God on our cities

“Pleasure resorts, theaters, hotels, and the homes of the wealthy were shaken and shattered. Many lives were blotted out of existence, and the air was filled with the shrieks of the injured and the terrified.

The destroying angels of God were at work. One touch, and buildings, so thoroughly constructed that men regarded them as secure against every danger, quickly became heaps of rubbish.”7

“There will be mighty earthquakes and great destruction of human life.”8

The very first sign when the sixth seal was opened: (Lisbon 1755).

“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seala great earthquake, and, lo, there was ; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood” (Revelation 6:12).

Lisbon, Portugal, on November 1, 1755

“These signs were witnessed before the opening of the nineteenth century. In fulfillment of this prophecy there occurred, in the year 1755, the most terrible earthquake that has ever been recorded.”9

On a single apocalyptic day in 1755, Lisbon, Portugal, was hit with an earthquake, a tsunami, and destructive fires.

“Though commonly known as the earthquake of Lisbon, it extended to the greater part of Europe, Africa, and America. It was felt in Greenland, in the West Indies, in the island of Madeira, in Norway and Sweden, Great Britain and Ireland.”10

“Tremors and waves rippled across the North Atlantic, raising rivers in Scotland and claiming lives as far away as Brazil.”11

“It pervaded an extent of not less than four million square miles.”12

“There has been much discussion on the estimated size of the earthquake, but it is believed to be between magnitude 8.5–9.0. . . . The earthquake was a massive slip of the Azores Gibraltar Faultline.”13

“Seismically speaking . . . that morning the tectonic plates slipped and released as much energy as 32,000 Hiroshima bombs.”14

The king of Portugal

“The monarch, Dom José I, had narrowly escaped death by staying at his country palace outside the city. . . . After the earthquake, Dom José suffered from acute claustrophobia inside buildings and lived the rest of his days in a palatial tent.”15

“In Africa the shock was almost as severe as in Europe. A great part of Algiers was destroyed; and a short distance from Morocco, a village containing eight or ten thousand inhabitants was swallowed up. A vast wave swept over the coast of Spain and Africa engulfing cities and causing great destruction.

“It was in Spain and Portugal that the shock manifested its extreme violence. At Cadiz the inflowing wave was said to be sixty feet high. Mountains, ‘some of the largest in Portugal, were impetuously shaken, as it were, from their very foundations, and some of them opened at their summits, which were split and rent in a wonderful manner, huge masses of them being thrown down into the adjacent valleys. Flames are related to have issued from these mountains.’ ”—Sir Charles Lyell, Principles of Geology, page 495.16

“ ‘The shock’ of the earthquake ‘was instantly followed by the fall of every church and convent, almost all the large public buildings, and more than one fourth of the houses. In about two hours after the shock, fires broke out in different quarters, and raged with such violence for the space of nearly three days, that the city was completely desolated.’ ”—Encyclopedia Americana, art. “Lisbon,” note (ed. 1831).”17

“For the religious celebration [Feast of All Saints – November 1], every candle in every church was lit, and the churches were decorated with flowers and flammable decorations. As the tremors rocked the churches, the candles tumbled, igniting the decorations, and creating massive fires which ravaged Lisbon for five further days after the earthquake.”18

“ ‘The sea first retired, and laid the bar dry; it then rolled in, rising fifty feet or more above its ordinary level.’ ” —Sir Charles Lyell, Principles of Geology, page 495.”19

“Before the tsunami hit, the water drained from Rio Tejo estuary, revealing shipwrecks loaded with treasures. Thousands of people raced into the muddy river to claim the riches, but no person of that era could predict what was about to be unleashed upon the city of Lisbon.

“The tsunami arrived so fast that several people riding on a horse back were forced to gallop as fast as possible to the upper grounds for fear of being carried away.

“Thousands who had escaped the earthquake’s destruction, were either drowned, killed by debris or dragged out to the sea by the tsunami.”20

“The earthquake generated a tsunami that produced waves about 20 feet (6 meters) high at Lisbon and 65 feet (20 meters) high at Cádiz, Spain. The waves traveled westward to Martinique in the Caribbean Sea, a distance of 3,790 miles (6,100 km), in 10 hours and there reached a height of 13 feet (4 meters) above mean sea level.”21

“ ‘The terror of the people was beyond description. Nobody wept; it was beyond tears. They ran hither and thither, delirious with horror and astonishment, beating their faces and breasts, crying, ‘Misericordia! the world’s at an end!’ Mothers forgot their children, and ran about loaded with crucifixed images. Unfortunately, many ran to the churches for protection; but in vain was the sacrament exposed; in vain did the poor creatures embrace the altars; images, priests, and people were buried in one common ruin.’ It has been estimated that ninety thousand persons lost their lives on that fatal day.”22

“Corpses were buried en masse or ferried out to sea to avoid an epidemic.”23

God’s purpose may be read in frequent earthquakes

“How frequently we hear of earthquakesGod’s purpose may be readarouse men and women to a sense of their danger and tornadoes, of destruction by fire and flood, with great loss of life and property! Apparently these calamities are capricious outbreaks of disorganized, unregulated forces of nature, wholly beyond the control of man; but in them all, . They are among the agencies by which He seeks to .”24

These will be more and more frequent, and you will be pointed at as being guilty for them.

“[Men in responsible positions] will point to calamities on land and sea—to the storms of wind, the floods, the earthquakes, the destruction by fire—as judgments indicating God’s displeasure because Sunday is not sacredly observed. These calamities will increase more and more, one disaster will follow close upon the heels of another; and those who make void the law of God will point to the few who are keeping the Sabbath of the fourth commandment as the ones who are bringing wrath upon the world.”25

III. An earthquake for our sins . . .
At the death of our Lord Jesus.

“And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom” (Mark 15:37, 38).

“Now when the centurionsaw the earthquakeTruly this was the Son of God, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, , and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, ” (Matthew 27:54).

A violent earthquake …

There was a violent earthquake. The people were shaken together in heaps. The wildest confusion and consternation ensued. In the surrounding mountains, rocks were rent asunder, and went crashing down into the plains. Sepulchers were broken open, and the dead were cast out of their tombs. Creation seemed to be shivering to atoms. Priests, rulers, soldiers, executioners, and people, mute with terror, lay prostrate upon the ground.”26

The nature groans in sympathy with her bleeding, dying Author.

“Amid the agonizing sufferings of the Son of God, blind and deluded men alone remain unfeeling. The chief priests and elders revile God’s dear Son while in His expiring agonies. Yet inanimate nature groans in sympathy with her bleeding, dying Author. The earth trembles. The sun refuses to behold the scene. The heavens gather blackness. Angels have witnessed the scene of suffering until they can look no longer, and hide their faces from the horrid sight. Christ is dying!He is in despair! His Father’s approving smile is removed, and angels are not permitted to lighten the gloom of the terrible hour. They can only behold in amazement their loved Commander, the Majesty of heaven, suffering the penalty of man’s transgression of the Father’s law.”27

The priests and rulers had no rest that Sabbath …

“Yet the priests and rulers were not at rest. . . . They had heard the cry, ‘It is finished.’ ‘Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit’ John 19:30; Luke 23:46. They had seen the rocks rent, and had felt the mighty earthquake, and they were restless and uneasy.”28

IV. Conclusion

Elijah received a special communication—an earthquake.

“And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And the Lord said unto him, Go, return on thy way” (1 Kings 19:9–15).

Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hostswith earthquake with thunder, and , and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire” (Isaiah 29:6).

What is your refuge in that day?

“If such scenes as this are to come, such tremendous judgments on a guilty world, where will be the refuge for God’s peopleearthquakeheld by four angelsThese winds are under control until God gives the word? How will they be sheltered until the indignation be overpast? John sees the elements of nature—, tempest, and political strife—represented as being . to let them go. There is the safety of God’s church.”29

“If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, knewest not the time of thy visitation” (Luke 19:42–44). and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou

See that ye refuse not him that speakethhe hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven” (Hebrews 12:25, 26).. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” (Matthew 23:37).

The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel” (Joel 3:16). ‰

References:
1 1. The Acts of the Apostles, p. 215.
2 2. Early Writings, p. 204.
3 3. The Signs of the Times, August 14, 1884.
4 4. The Great Controversy, pp. 589, 590.
5 5. Maranatha, p. 137.
6 6. Evangelism, p. 27.
7 7. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, pp. 92, 93.
8 8. The SDA Bible Commentary [E. G. White Comments], vol. 7, p. 946.
9 9. The Great Controversy, p. 304.
10 10. Ibid.
11 11. The Earthquake That Brought Enlightenment, Laura Trethewey September 1, 2020.
12 12. The Great Controversy, p. 304.
16 16. The Great Controversy, pp. 304, 305.
17 17. Ibid., p. 305.
19 19. The Great Controversy, p. 305.
22 22. The Great Controversy, p. 305.
24 24. Prophets and Kings, p. 277.
25 25. The Southern Watchman, June 28, 1904.
26 26. The Desire of Ages, p. 756.
27 27. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, p. 209.
28 28. The Desire of Ages, p. 771.
29 29. Testimonies to Ministers, p. 444.