Is this a Sign of the Times?
MADRAS, India — The death toll from a massive undersea earthquake that triggered a wall of water crashing through Asia climbed to more than 23,000 today as officials braced for more deaths and a Herculean cleanup.
Millions of people were reported homeless in a wide swath from Indonesia to the Indian subcontinent. Whole villages were missing and the wreckage was too extensive for any reasonable estimate of the cost beyond many of billions of dollars. It will likely take years to rebuild.The next part will be even worse.
…experts warned that the aftereffects were likely to be equally deadly. Disease, spread from rotting corpses, starvation and lack of drinkable water all threaten to keep killing for weeks.[SNIP]
The disaster was an equal opportunity killer, claiming rich Western tourists [and] impoverished native fishermen ...…in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and even Somalia. This is nearly too horrific to contemplate. It’s almost as if the earth opened up and swallowed thousands.
But consider this:
3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,[a]’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.(Matthew 24: 3-8)
Hey, I don’t have an inside line to God. I’m just pointing out what the Guy said. Could be a coincidence, for all I know.
Michele has an extensive list of organizations that will be assisting these poor people for some time to come.
(Thanks to Hog on Ice)
UPDATE: Joe Gandleman has a roundup of Asian Blogs regarding the disaster.
(Thanks to Michael J. Totten)
