A few weeks ago I had correspondence with a brother in Christ who suggested that the earthquakes around the world are not acts of God signifying the time of birth pangs foretold by Christ and His apostles. Instead, he described them as the acts of men, suggesting that those who are commonly called the New World Order, were behind them. I wrote back to him the following:
Dear Brother,
I am familiar with some of the views advocating that man may be causing the earthquakes, but from a Biblical, revelational, and practical perspective I have not been able to accept them. I will share with you my reasons, not to denigrate your opinions, but to encourage you to further consideration.
Yahshua testified clearly to His disciples that there would be signs on the earth, equating them to birth pangs, before His return. He specifically named earthquakes, and what better representation of the contractions of birth pangs could there be than earthquakes? If man were able to duplicate such things, then it seems likely that the Lord would have warned His disciples to beware of false labor pangs, and to have disclosed that Satan would be mimicking such signs in the last days, but there is an absence of any such warnings in the Scriptures. We are simply told that earthquakes, and the roaring of the seas and the waves, would be signs preceding the return of Christ.
On a revelational level, the location of the quakes has been very significant. From the 8.8 quake in Concepcion, Chile, to the two recent temblors that devastated Christchurch, and all of these recent ones being on the Ring of Fire, there is a profound testimony coming forth. I see no reason to attribute these earthquakes to man when Yahweh has always been the one to whom such events have been attributed. Even the secular world calls them "acts of God."
On a practical level, I have heard much theorizing about things like HAARP, and the Large Hadron Collider being able to generate earthquakes, but I have never seen any evidence, only speculation. It seems to me that the theory of evil men causing these disasters is appealing to the mind of man and has given such hypothesis traction in this hour. I certainly do not contest the evil of which man is capable, but I have very sincere doubts about man's ability to control, or cause, such enormous events as the recent Japanese earthquake.
I encourage the saints to guard against such speculations. I know how easy it is to be allured by them, but we are called to proclaim the truth of God. I find in myself the need for much self-restraint in writing and speaking of the causes and meanings of the world events that we are observing.
May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days,
Joseph Herrin
This led to further discourse between this brother and myself. In reply, he wrote the following to me.
Hi Brother Joseph,
I fully appreciate your position, however, what do we do with the US Military admitting they caused certain disasters? For example the U.S. Navy admitting to helping cause the Northridge earthquake in California in 1994 after too many questions were raised - their final reasoning was that their intent was to relieve stress on the San Andreas fault. Or the modern quake in Sumatra in 2004.
Brother, while our faithful and true Savior is still in charge it would be an interesting study for you to view the research of Nicola Tesla - evidence is overwhelming and accepted by the scientific community on his ability back in the 1920's to split the earth in two - he caused an earthquake in New York City in 1898 so severe the authorities were involved in making sure his machinery did not do it again.
Then we have the evidence of Hurricanes being "enlarged" - such as Katrina - the first Hurricane in U.S. history to reach Category 5 status after nearly dying out in the Gulf of Mexico.
You might research the Air Force Document: USAF 2025 - Weather As A Force Multiplier.
There are a plethora of facts available to prove not only is man tinkering with nature he is and has been causing many "natural" disasters.
[End Excerpt]
Following is my response:
Dear Brother,
It is with kind intent that I write the following. You have many astounding claims, and you write as if you believe it would be right and proper for me to accept the claims you make as truth. Yet, you are not giving me the information and evidence needed that I might be led to adopt the things you are writing as truth. A rational man would like some evidence to support the things that are being asserted. For example, consider the following. You wrote:
what do we do with the US Military admitting they caused certain disasters? For example the U.S. Navy admitting to helping cause the Northridge earthquake in California in 1994 after too many questions were raised - their final reasoning was that their intent was to relieve stress on the San Andreas fault.
If we take just this one claim and look at it, I would ask you whether you have presented to me anything solid or substantial upon which I could be able to judge your claim, and thereby possibly be persuaded? Where are the citations? Where is the evidence? What one normally finds on the Internet is that people making such claims assume that you will believe them because they say some other person has said it is so, though they most likely did not provide any solid evidence of these things either. One wild claim gets passed along ad infinitum, with little consideration to provide those who wish to test the accuracy of the claims with any real tangible evidence.
You go on to mention various things like the government document on "weather as a force multiplier." I read it several weeks ago. I read it very carefully. You know what I found? Those advocating using weather modification said that it had "potential," while admitting that it could only work in very limited and ideal circumstances, and even then the results would not be assured. Reading through the details it seemed that about the only thing they thought the military might be able to do is cause some rain or a thunderstorm to occur over an enemy location, but only in the right climates, when the wind was blowing in the right direction, and when there was adequate moisture and other atmospheric conditions to make it work.
Brother, because I did read that document, I know that it is a very shaky piece of evidence for you to give to support your contention that men are masters of the world. The document actually reveals man's great impotence in these things.
I also have a book on Tesla in my library. I have been fascinated by his research and genius for many years. At the same time, I have observed that there has arisen vast amounts of hyperbole, speculation, and false claims about what he truly was able to accomplish. Men have taken his modest achievements, as brilliant as they were, and concocted all types of myths and fables that would make very good comic book material.
Again, I would ask, "have you provided me with any substantial proof, any CREDIBLE citations, or any supporting evidence to back up your claim that he was able to split the earth in two, or that he caused a powerful earthquake in NYC in 1898? You merely say "evidence is overwhelming and accepted by the scientific community..." If the evidence is credible, and overwhelming, would you mind sharing this evidence with me? I will examine it if you will provide it, but I cannot accept such grand claims without anything more than a personal endorsement that you believe this to be so.
Brother, I would not expect you to accept something as fact simply because I endorse it. In what you have written there are no names mentioned, no dates, no locations, no citations from scientific journals, magazines, newspapers, or broadcasts. There is no evidence presented that there actually were members of the scientific community at that time who accepted these things. You have not shown me that these experts in the scientific community, if they did exist, had the qualifications to know what they were talking about.
It would be unreasonable for me to expect anyone to receive such a testimony from me. I would not ask you to do so. If you want to write me back again on these same subjects and provide the information needed for me to be able to test these things, then I will gladly do so. But the evidence needs to be credible, not third hand rumors and repeated claims that have no verifiable evidence to support them.
In an hour when deception and deceivers are rampant, it is necessary for the sons of God to exercise an added diligence as they test all things. It is my desire to examine all things carefully.
May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days,
Joseph Herrin
The brother I was writing to assured me he would look through his files and send me the supporting evidence that I requested. To date, he has not done so. I share this correspondence, not to malign a brother. I have intentionally withheld his name, for it is not my desire to embarrass another. If what he wrote was unique, and isolated to him alone, I would not share it at all, for it would have no benefit to others. What he wrote, however, is fairly typical of many of the e-mails I have received for years. There are numerous claims contained in his e-mail that if true would be truly world shaking (pun intended), but nothing substantial was presented to back them up.
Because I had done some research into a number of the things he cited, I knew that much of what he wrote was personal opinion, not fact. Some of the claims could be easily checked and refuted, while some would require more time to delve into. I had followed Hurricane Katrina closely, and wrote extensively about it, so I found his statements regarding the hurricane to be inaccurate. He stated:
Then we have the evidence of Hurricanes being "enlarged" - such as Katrina - the first Hurricane in U.S. history to reach Category 5 status after nearly dying out in the Gulf of Mexico.
This is evidently a reference to the belief of some that the HAARP installation of the U.S. government is being used to alter the weather. The data on this hurricane is readily available online from many reputable sources. It was being tracked continuously, with its barometric pressure and wind speeds sampled at regular intervals. It was constantly observable on radar and satellite, and it never came near to dying out in the Gulf of Mexico. After it crossed Florida, it immediately began strengthening over the warm waters of the Gulf.
Wikipedia summarized Katrina’s progress in the following way:
The storm weakened over land, but it regained hurricane status about one hour after entering the Gulf of Mexico.[2]
The storm rapidly intensified after entering the Gulf, growing from a Category 3 hurricane to a Category 5 hurricane in just nine hours. This rapid growth was due to the storm's movement over the "unusually warm" waters of the Loop Current, which increased wind speeds.[7] On Saturday, August 27, the storm reached Category 3 intensity on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, becoming the third major hurricane of the season. An eyewall replacement cycle disrupted the intensification, but caused the storm to nearly double in size. Katrina again rapidly intensified, attaining Category 5 status on the morning of August 28 and reached its peak strength at 1:00 p.m. CDT that day, with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph (280 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 902 mbar. The pressure measurement made Katrina the fourth most intense Atlantic hurricane on record at the time, only to be surpassed by Hurricanes Rita and Wilma later in the season; it was also the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Gulf of Mexico at the time (a record also later broken by Rita).[2]
[Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_katrina]
I have made it a habit to fact check people’s claims. This should be something we all do. There is much error and deception being constantly bandied about. We should not trust that others have checked the accuracy of things, especially if we are passing the information along to others. We need to perform due diligence ourselves in checking the accuracy of information. I have not been perfect in this, and we should all manifest grace to one another. We should, however, not develop patterns of carelessness in these areas. If we do not apply ourselves to discern truth from error, it will eventually prove costly.
Oftentimes similar claims to those above are addressed to me, presented with much confident assurance. Some are offended if I do not accept some claim based upon their word. To be offended because another man has not adopted some view we espouse when we have not provided him the means to examine things and test them is nothing less than a manifestation of pride. To be Christ-like, we must have a different attitude. If we are confident that we have arrived at some important truth that our brother needs to know, then we must manifest a spirit of love by patiently and gently setting forth the evidence before him. This is the pattern revealed in Scripture for one who would instruct others in spiritual matters, and it applies to natural matters as well.
II Timothy 2:24-25
And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth...
Christians fall terribly short of this standard as they converse with others today. Pride, arrogance, contentiousness, slander, reviling, insults, and anger are very often the response received from a brother or sister when their opinions or claims are not embraced by another. This should not be so. The apostle Paul said, “And though I... understand all mysteries and all knowledge..., but have not love, I am nothing” (I Corinthians 13:2-3). Love requires that we are gentle with one another, seeking to convey our thoughts with patience. Love will not be easily provoked, nor seek to provoke others. Love does not behave rudely (vs. 5).
People of God, I want to emphasize the following point. Some, in desiring to avoid conflict, and to keep from offending another, refuse to tell others when they are unable to agree with some claim, or idea, they are espousing. We are to always seek to guard love of the brethren, but love does not demand that we avoid speaking honestly with our brothers and sisters. We are commanded to “speak the truth in love.” Some speak the truth without love, and others seek to maintain peace by sacrificing truth. Neither of these actions are satisfying to the Father.
I get a large volume of e-mail. Spurious claims and erroneous comments are common among the things sent to me. In hundreds of instances I have pointed out to others that there is some error present in what they have sent out. I do not do so to be unkind, but because I love the truth and I want to see others walking in truth.
III John 4
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
It would not be love for me to observe a brother or sister embracing, or passing along error, and to show no regard for them doing so. I seek to be discerning in knowing when to point out error, especially where kingdom doctrine is concerned, for a child cannot be fed meat. I don’t want to choke people who are not yet ready for some truth. God is patient and has a time for everything. Yet, in regard to the myriad of claims relating to this natural world, every saint should be testing these things, examining them to see if they are true.
When I share with others that there is error in what they have forwarded, or written to me, I realize that there is always the potential that some will be offended, or angered. Pride is usually the culprit, for it is present in everyone who has been born of Adam. Pride exists in my flesh. We must be diligent to buffet our bodies and keep them under subjection. We must not let our words and actions be motivated by pride, but put on a spirit of humility.
I know that not all with whom I correspond will respond in the Spirit of Christ. Many are easily provoked. Love has not been perfected in them. If this is the case, I may attempt to share with them further, but if I observe that they are close-minded, and combative, not open to consideration, then I will desist. This too is wisdom, and the instruction of Scriptures.
II Timothy 2:23
But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife.
Titus 3:9-11
But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless. Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.
The conclusion of the matter is that we should all manifest love of the truth and love for one another. Speak the truth in love. Do not avoid truth for the sake of peace, but neither should we continue to cast pearls before those who are divisive, manifesting a spirit of pride. To do so is vanity.
Romans 12:9
Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.
Parables Blog: www.parablesblog.blogspot.com
Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063
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