Over the past week there has been a series of natural calamities that have hit the region. Hurricane Harvey hit Texas as a category 4 hurricane (after devastating the Caribbean) and caused a lot of flooding and destruction along its path. It is said that the “all-time continental U.S. tropical rain records were broken.” Then, southern Mexico experienced magnitude 8.1 earthquake, the strongest that hit the country in a century. And the earthquake was followed by Hurricane Katia. Though downgraded to a tropical depression when it hit land, it still added injury to an already hurting community. As I write, Hurricane Irma is approaching Florida, after pounding the Caribbean and Cuba as a category 5 hurricane. Close behind is Hurricane Jose. Who knows what further pain and destruction this would bring? Meanwhile, California and Oregon are battling wildfires. California has already declared a state of emergency in three different counties.
All these calamities (and other devastating events around the world), plus the supposed cloud of nuclear threats, and even the recent solar eclipse, are once again bringing out the religious fervor of end-of-the-world watchers. Even the alignment of certain celestial bodies later this month has not escaped their attention. Already there are quite a number of “signs of the times” posts in social media. Prophecies are made about the return of the Messiah. Once again, these prophecies are claimed to be biblical. Yet they disregard the widely accepted, basic principles of proper Bible interpretation. And they continue to ignore the clear declaration of scripture: “Now concerning that day or hour no one knows—neither the angels in heaven nor the Son—but only the Father” (Mark 13.32 CSB). This kind of reading of the signs of the times to determine the precise moment of Christ’s return is an exercise in futility.
Worse, there are those who look at these calamities and proclaim that they are signs of God’s judgment on a sinful humanity of a specific country or state. The condemnations keep coming, but the people who are affected by the calamities (both followers and non-followers of Christ) continue to experience pain and heartache. Enough already!
We need to give more attention to and make loud proclamations about signs of the times that are of a different character. I am referring to the selfless efforts of countless others—unnamed or well-known—who labor to help in the relief efforts in affected areas. Even the publicized generosity of certain celebrities is worth celebrating. Whether the efforts are faith-based or not, they all are signs that a spark of godly character still resides in humanity. In that I will rejoice, and praise the Lord.
—Keith Y. Jainga