The transition from 2004 to 2005 has been electrifying. The international ramifications of the deaths of so many people, and the wrecked livelihoods of multitudes of survivors, has brought about an international outpouring of concern and aid in the wake of the massive earthquake and tsunamis that destroyed the coastlines of many nations in the southeast Asian region.

This response, even toward an area of the world which of late has exhibited antagonism toward Christians and Jews, is encouraging, amazing, and comforting. The outpouring of concern, aid, funds, and love, reveals the truth that those who have grown up in nations that traditionally adhere to Judeo-Christian ethics understand the value of human life, and willingly desire, and are even compelled, to help others in need, even if the majority of those affected do not hold the same ideologies or religious affiliation. Even those who do not adhere to Christianity or Judaism within many nations have caught the urgency, and are willingly giving of their resources to assist in the clean-up and rehabilitation.

It seems all mankind has been mobilized by this event! Therefore, as often has been historically demonstrated in such disasters, in the midst of tragedy, God’s love, grace, and mercy are extended, and many people find themselves willing to listen to the gospel message.

However at the same time, many still ask, “Where is God?” “”If God indeed exists, why do tragedies occur?” Or we hear sentiments such as, “A loving God would not let this happen! Therefore, God either does not exist, or He is a big bully! He certainly does not live up to His loving reputation!” So man’s perception of God is directly challenged.

In the minds and hearts of many, since this disaster was caused by natural phenomena rather that either man-made political strife or misplaced idealism, God is singled out. After all, someone must be responsible! In the desire for explanation and justice, there must be a perpetrator to accuse. Therefore, for lack of any other suspect, God is blamed! The questions and accusations cannot, and should not, be dismissed. Rather, we must realize these are honest cries of suffering humanity, revealing frustration and anger at the apparent injustice of such obviously tragic devastation and loss of life.

But, was the earthquake and resultant tsunamis an “act of God?” The answers are neither a simple “yes” or “no.” Is God really the perpetrator? Can we pin this “crime” on Him? And, is mankind totally exempt of any “blame”in the face of natural disaster? Is this actually a “crime?” Or is it simply nature out of control? Obviously, the planet we live on has its imperfections, or earthquakes and tsunamis, volcanic activity, storms, avalanches, mudslides, and other natural disasters, would never occur. God created this universe and everything in it, and He pronounced it all “good.” Therefore, why is it so terribly flawed and dangerous? God Himself is the essence of “goodness.” He therefore is not the author of evil.

But He also does not dismiss evil as inconsequential. He is the God of righteous justice, and as such, impurity cannot dwell in His Holy presence. Rather, He requires justice be done. In this life, this justice takes the form of natural consequence of the curse. In that sense, the rigors of justice do come from His hand. But He does not create evil. Evil entered in the form of deception and disobedience to His directive, therefore, when mankind sinned, the perfect balance of this natural world became tainted with imperfection.

All creation fell under the curse. The curse is not an evil itself, rather it is a consequence of the evil. This curse has plagued all creation ever since Adam and Eve sinned. So yes, mankind, by reason of his fallen nature, must take some of the responsibility for natural disorder because of sin, and yes, God’s justice plays a part also.

What sin unleased is not the anger of a God who chooses to bring about punitive measures against innocent victims. Rather, natural disasters are the on-going evidence of a cursed world. In this world both righteous and unrighteous, young and old, innocent and criminal, fall under this curse that fell upon the earth. God does not sit in Heaven and decide to zap areas of the planet out of a vendetta against humanity. Rather, as in the case of this recent disaster, mankind has again come face to face with the reality of the curse portrayed through unbalanced natural phenomena. But God did not institute the curse upon all creation and simply leave it to wreak its devastation willi-nilly.

What is truly amazing is the fact that in God’s prophetic program to deal with the sin of mankind, He has provided a plan of salvation which will bring those who truly repent into perfect communion with Himself, and ultimately, He will restore even the natural elements of “Paradise Lost.” The curse will eventually be removed. But He also must allow the course of nature to totally unfold until all His prophetic word is complete.

Why? Could He not just reverse the curse? Yes. But He must also give mankind the chance to choose to repent. Imperfection, death, and flawed nature, came about as a consequence of man’s choice. But mankind has been offered, through Jesus Christ, the opportunity to choose to be restored to fellowship with God. Otherwise, God would indeed be unjust, and mankind would be relegated to the role of robotic pawns to be manipulated at will, and man could accuse Him of being a tyrant.

The righteous and innocent have nothing to fear from natural phenomena such as the recent earthquake and tsunamis, because this earthly life is not all there is. Mankind is an eternal being. Natural physical death is not the end. It is the unrighteous who have reason to fear, because they too are eternal, but face perpetual separation from God -- the Second Death in the Lake of Fire.

Therefore, natural disasters remind each if us of the fact that our personal eternal destiny is of paramount importance, and that each person will one day stand before the Righteous Judge. Jesus Christ, through His shed blood atonement on the cross, has made provision for the curse of sin and death to be lifted. Each then has a choice to either accept or reject His provision.

This world will come out from under the curse, but meanwhile the course of fallen nature will continue until all is fulfilled. Is God an angry, despotic, unforgiving God? No! In spite of, and in the midst of disaster, He has offered mercy and deliverance, not just for the natural existence of this life, but more importantly, for eternity!

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” I Corinthians 15:22. “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now, And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” Romans 8:22,23. The eternal destinies of those who lost their lives must be left in God’s hands, because He alone is the Righteous, yet merciful, Judge.

Did God turn a blind eye to the disaster? No!! Rather, He knows each victim by name, and His love and mercy are extended and exemplified through those who administer relief and aid. So, can we blame God for this recent natural disaster? Dare we ascribe either evil intent or abject indifference to the character of Almighty God? Absolutely not!

To do so is to cloud our understanding of who He is, and of His great love and mercy, and His desire to reconcile man and all creation to Himself. But, the character of God is holy and pure, and along with His love and mercy, He must uphold righteousness. There is another aspect of the curse that God brought upon the earth and all upon it. The curse was His disciplinary response to man’s disobedience.

In that regard, God is able to rightfully apply His discipline when it is needed. As the Heavenly Father, He must bring direct and sometimes what seems harsh discipline against those who defy Him! Defiance is never to be tolerated! It must be dealt with strongly, because those who defy God by lifting their hand against Him by threatening or harming His property or household, must be stopped! That is justice. If the defiant refuse normal disciplinary measures, harsher methods of discipline must be used.

Was God’s discipline in play through the earthquake and tsunamis? If we are pragmatically honest, the answer must be, absolutely! In southeast Asia there has been a defiant movement to rid the entire area of Christians, and prevent people from hearing the message of salvation.

This movement has exerted itself by insurgents committing atrocities against innocent, law-abiding citizens. In the Indonesian area, Churches have been burned and/or severely damaged, and pastors and congregations scattered, with many jailed, kidnaped, tortured, and many have been murdered.

Can a loving, just God simply sit back and turn a blind eye? Can He allow evil to multiply against His children? The natural catastrophes that have struck the area are not simply the random acts of nature. Rather, God allowed the earthquake and tsunamis to devastate the area to bring His discipline to bare upon those in defiance. He had to draw them up short! When the defiant choose to demonstrate their disobedience against God and His children, to uphold righteousness, God must display His wrath. But what of the innocent and righteous who’s lives were snuffed-out? What about the thousands of children who have lost their parents, their shelter, their means of survival? What about those who have lost their livelihoods, with everything swept away or damaged beyond repair? What about those who are now so severely injured they never will be able to work? How do we square the fate of all these with a loving God? When God’s wrath is poured out on the defiant, the innocent are often caught in the cross-fire, simply because the enemies of God are like terrorists.

In fact, they are terrorists toward God’s people. They plant themselves among the innocent so that when punitive measures are brought to bare, the innocent are affected also. But the defiant do not have the last word! The eternal souls of the innocent are in God’s hand, so when God’s wrath is brought to bare against the ungodly, the righteous are already in His care.

Those who have lost their lives stand in His Presence, never to be touched again by atrocity. Those who remain are helped by God stirring up hearts of compassion to send in aid, medical supplies, food, and loving counsel. The result of strong discipline is amazing. Those who would perpetuate disobedience and defiance are, at least temporarily, stopped cold in their tracks. They are forced to face the fact that they cannot undermine God’s authority and get away with it.

Whether this revelation will ultimately change their mind-set and activities is another matter. Meanwhile, entire “family” is made to realize God does not play games! He says what He means, and means what He says! God is not heavy-handed, rather His principles of justice and decency must be adhered-to. If His directives were those of a tyrant, the defiant would have reason to rebel. But God ‘s house-rules are instructive and reasonable, designed to be protective, to provide a framework for safety and freedom. He particularly becomes vexed when rebellious factions seek to prevent others from living fear-free lives, or attempt to make it difficult or impossible to worship Him in safety.

Certainly, God in His Word, stated the righteous would suffer persecution. Persecution is a given for the righteous, but that does not mean the persecutors have freedom to do whatever they want without repercussion.

Some persecution occurs because of ignorance, mis-information, or manipulation. Those involved need to be faced with the truth. Many, when truth is explained, change their attitude, and stop their destructive activities. Some may even come to Christ for salvation.

Therefore, God’s discipline may in fact bring about the environment whereby they hear the salvation message. This appears to be what is taking place in southeast Asia. Many aid agencies and workers are Christians, and are sharing the message of God’s love through their actions and kindness.

For many persecutors, this in itself is diametrically opposed to what they have been led to believe about Christ and Christians. Islam in particular has set about to destroy the message of salvation through Christ by vilifying the reputation of Christians and Jews. They have painted such a black picture, and persuaded their followers that all who are not Muslim are enemies who must either be forced to convert to Islam or be annihilated from the earth, that it is not much wonder we are now dealing world-wide with militant Islamic terrorism, perpetrated through subversive, hard-line gorilla groups.

The earthquake and tsunamis have, at least temporarily, forced a halt to rampant persecution in Indonesia, in Sumatra, in Sri Lanka, and indeed the Islamic populations, among others, are now faced with an ideological dilemma. The ‘infidels’ are showing them love, concern, and compassion. The ‘infidels’ are providing food, shelter, clean-up crews, funds, workers, nurses, hospitals, doctors, medical supplies, and equipment. The ‘infidels’ are pouring aid into the region from around the world, particularly from the Christianized Western nations.

Never in the history of the world has there been such an international mobilization in response to a single disaster. As a result, for now, the door of opportunity is wide-open to shed the message of the love of Christ in southeast Asia! Love and care are dispelling fear and error. Therefore, God’s discipline also allows truth to be spread to the rescuing of eternal souls.

There is therefore a much broader purpose and message portrayed and enacted by this recent earthquake and the devastation of “the sea and the waves roaring,”Luke 21:25, which is one of the prophetic signs that the coming of the LORD for the righteous is indeed drawing near! God is letting those who would seek world Islamization, and all those who would place themselves in opposition to His will and His Word, that He is paying attention!

This disaster is a warning to all! God’s wrath will soon be poured out on the unjust, the disobedient, and the defiant of the whole world. The Days of Awe are coming quickly. The Tribulation period will soon be unleashed upon the unjust. But before this period begins, God, in His grace and mercy, is giving ample warning and opportunity for man to repent. The Age of Grace will not last forever.

The Church, with the mandate of the Gospel of Jesus Christ’s redemptive plan and invitation, will soon be removed to safety. This Age of opportunity will soon will come to an end, and the nations will then face the wrath of God.

God has, through the sobering discipline of the earthquake, temporarily gained the ear of the whole world. We are all, with sober faces, lined up in front of Him. Some are expectant, some are mourning, some are scared, some are devastated, some are angry, some are motivated, some are confused, some are still defiant. Like a father, who has had to mete out discipline, and who in grave seriousness lines up his entire family for a stern lecture, letting them all know that he means business, God has caused us all to line up, wide-eyed, before Him.

Does He hates us? Just the opposite! He loves us exceedingly!

Maureen Metcalf is author of \"The Final Schedule Revealed: In the Fall Feasts and Festivals\" http://teshuvatrumpet.org