After the terrible devastation of the earthquake in Haiti, many are taking a new look at major regions in the United States that could see quakes, those being California, the New Madrid fault line, and, lately, at the “earthquake swarm” in Yellowstone National park. And, people are wondering – can it happen here?

Earthquakes are very scary. Unlike tornadoes, hurricanes, forest fires, and other disasters, which provide at least a *little* warning, quakes provide none. (Some speak of hints like sea lions leaving San Francisco, but that is just a coincidence, as they had left well before the 1989 quake.) This makes them seem much more scary. The supervolcano that is also under Yellowstone make that one appear quite frightening to many.

Unfortunately, we can’t know for certain when the next quake will hit, but we know that they will come sometime. Will it be in our lifetimes? We don’t know for sure. However, one day there will be an earthquake so large, it will be larger than any that has come before it. The Bible which is God’s love letter to us – warns us of that humongous, 20-on-the-Richter-scale quake just before the Battle of Armageddon. That’s just before his Second Coming.

Why does a “love letter” warn of such things? Because any loving person will want to warn their loved ones of impending doom, so they can escape. Jesus did the same thing when He warned His disciples of the year 70 A.D. destruction of Jerusalem decades before it happened He then jumped straight to the end times, which they had asked about, so as to answer their original question; this is why the church age in between is ignored in Matthew 24-25. He wants us to be prepared.

See, God made this world perfect. There weren’t supposed to be any natural disasters. But, something happened when man, by his own free choice (because god didn’t want us to be mindless robots) chose to bring sin into the world. That sin was like an infection, which infected all the earth. It wasn’t just that man faced spiritual death, and would one day face physical death as well. All of creation was infected. Hence, Romans 8:22 tells us that the whole world groans and travails in pain. In fact, “earthquakes in diverse places” is one sign of the end being near.

Thankfully, one day, God will make a new Heaven and a new earth, where there will be no more pain, no suffering, no tears. But, there can be no sin there, either. So, how do we make sure we get there, and how does this help us prepare?

How do we get to that new Heaven and earth?

Each of us has that same “infection” called a sin nature. We have all sinned, and come short of the glory of God. God Himself is just like His perfect Heaven – we must be perfect to approach Him. The wages of sin – what we earn for that sin, that time when we go against His will and choose our own way – is death. That’s a separation from God forever in a place of suffering called Hell, which was only created for the devil and his angels which rebelled. God doesn’t want people to go there.

So, God made a way for us to get to heaven. He came into this world in the person of Jesus Christ, who was fully God and fully man. He was perfect. And, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He died for our sins, was buried, and then He rose again the third day. And, the wonderful thing is, that as many as receive Him by simple faith, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that beleve on His name.

It’s only by simple faith in what He already did that we can get to Heaven. We can’t do it ourselves. Each person must put his or her trust in Jesus Christ to forgive them and save them from their sins, and come make them new on the inside. For if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away, behold, all thigns are become new. Then, he will live in us and help us to grow closer to Him in our love, compassion, and so on. We’ll still have that fleshly nature, but one day, those who receive Him will be changed totally, so they are without in once they die or are raptured. Then, eventually, God will make that new Heaven and earth, and Heaven itself shall descend to that world, and God will dwell with man, as told in Revelation 21.

Okay, so it will come, but not for a long time, right? It probably won’t come for a long while. However, here’s what to do to prepare.

First, pray God saves your soul

The most important thing is to receive His free gift of salvation, by faith in what He did for you on the cross as having taken all the punishment for your sin.

You might die in some other way than a quake, after all. You need to be prepared. That means that when the church age ends, you will be caught up in the air with Him – either as one of the dead in Christ which rise first, or one of those who remain living on Earth.

Second, pray God holds it off

First, the major earthquake the Bible speaks of occurs in the Tribulation period. This doesn’t mean there *can’t* be a major quake before then. But, you can certainly pray that God will hold off the Big One in California, the Yellowstone supervolcano, and so on until the Tribulation period.

See, the church age ends at the start of the Tribulation. Events on Earth during the Tribulation are spoken of in Revelation 6-19. Once the Rapture happens, things will get a lot worse, as far as natural disasters, plagues, and so on, as well as sin.

Right now, there is a lot of sin in the world’s people. And, creation is groaning more and more. It’s not because of anyone’s particular sin. To continue our earlier analogy, it’s just part of that “infection” that has been spreading throughout the world, infecting all of nature with decay. God is all-powerful, He can hold things off. But, that “infection” has an effect. And, God – being just as well – must allow the laws of cause and effect to run their course, unless He intercedes in a miraculous way. If there were no cause and effect, the world would be an even worse place; nobody would know what to expect when anything happened.

Third, pray God helps you through

If there would be a major quake, you can pray that God helps you through it. He gives us grace to help with everything in time of need, but that last word is very important. He provides us with our daily needs, not just those things we want. Having a couple weeks of supplies in event of a major disaster is always wise. Having a couple years is foolish. It’s not trusting in God. Remember, He tells His disciples to seek first the Kingdom of God, and its righteousness, and all these things (food, shelter, etc.) would be added unto us.

Fourth, pray God gives you discernment

This is a vital part of the Christian life. It means knowing when something is of God, and when it’s not.

Stories of looting and such in Haiti can make one worry about what would happen in event of a disaster here. However, that spirit of fear is actually ungodly. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2 Tim. 1:7) When the Bible says to “fear God,” it means to hold Him in great reverence, to realize His awesome power and what He could do if He wanted, which helps us realize his great mercy by which He saved us even more. He doesn’t want to destroy us. He never takes joy in punishing, He loves us unconditionally. So, that term never means to be frightened.

First, note that God lives in us through His Holy Spirit , which is fully god just like God the Father and God the Son, Jesus Christ. This is the Spirit we can listen to so we can be guided through life. He doesn’t want us to be afraid and worry all the time about earthquakes, or any other disasters. He wants us to use His Spirit.

It’s a Spirit of peace that passes understanding, of goodness, of mercy. And, it’s one where people should look at us and see a difference. When someone sees a Christian, they should see Christ inside them, and say, “Wow, I wish I had that Spirit of peace.”

It’s wonderful to have that Spirit. But, the same Spirit that lives in us and gives us peace, and the ability to get through all the problems of life, is God. That means He is all-knowing. As such, He can tell us, in our hearts, what is right and what is wrong.

When the Bible says we should not be as little children, tossed to and fro with every doctrine, it’s talking mostly about sound Biblical doctrine. It’s saying, “Don’t just keep changing with whatever man teaches, follow the Bible, which is forever.” However, there is another application which can be made, too.

So often, we hear stories about massive supervolcanoes, or fault lines like New Madrid, or rumors about things like the San Francisco sea lions, and we start to worry. Those little worries become big ones, and eventually we get so anxious that we don’t know what to do. Then, just as that one crisis ends, the next one begins – maybe it’s the H1N1 virus, maybe it’s economic woes, maybe it’s something else.

God doesn’t want us to be tossed about like a little boat on a raging sea. He wants us to have a peace that passes understanding. He wants us to feel safe, so we can know what’s important, and what isn’t. He knows the future, so He can guide us as to what to watch out for, what to just keep track of but not be too concerned, and what we can ignore. God cares for your well-being. It’s not just eternal life in Heaven someday He promises us. It’s eternal life with Him starting the moment you trust Him as your Savior! Hallelujah!

So, when you hear stories about earthquake swarms, or whatever else the media brings up, trust in god to keep you, because He will. This world has a huge infection called sin, which has all of creation groaning and travailing. However, if you receive Him as Savior, you can have Him guiding you through it all; you only have to turn to Him and ask for that help, for He has promised, “I will never leave you, norm forsake you.”