At 2:46 pm on March 11, suddenly the desk and walls around me started to shake side to side, making a rrrrrr sound. All the household appliances were trembling so hard that they seemed they would likely fall down to the floor. While I stopped the TV and computer monitor from falling with my hands, I could hear the shrieking sound of plates in the cupboard rattling against the glass door. It seemed that all this shaking came from a bomb explosion somewhere nearby. I couldn’t say anymore than ‘It should stop. God please help us,’ for those seemingly endless two to three minutes.Thankfully, the shaking calmed down. I thought the earthquake would be more than four degrees in magnitude. Where would the seismic epicenter be and how big would the magnitude be? I was worried that the site of the epicenter would not be okay at all. I quickly turned on the TV to see the news flash. The earthquake originated on the northeast area off the Pacific coast. It was reported that it was 8.9 in magnitude and a mega tsunami, supposedly between three and ten meters high, was closing in on coastal villages. The reporter, in a hurried manner, was announcing to the villagers in the area to evacuate to higher ground immediately. However, the remaining ten minutes were way too short. Although the site was not shown on TV, I froze instantly, picturing what an unimaginable tragedy was happening there at that very moment. The strongest earthquake ever, the tsunami, blackouts, explosion of a nuclear power plant, and subsequent radiation exposure ? all combined into an immeasurable calamity upon Japan. With a magnitude of 9.0, more than 10,000 of casualties, more than 15,000 missing, more than 400,000 victims whose villages were completely ruined, it was an enormous disaster.

When God made the earth and seas on the third Day, He saw that it was good (Gen 1:9-10). Hebrew 1:3 says “God upholds all things by the word of His power.” Job 38:10-11 says “I placed boundaries on it and set a bolt and doors, and I said, 'Thus far you shall come, but no farther; And here shall your proud waves stop'?” Nevertheless, the earth trembled and sea poured out on the surface of the earth. The Bible says, “When He arises to make the earth tremble,” (Isa 2:19, 21) “And pours them out on the surface of the earth, The LORD is His name” (Amos 5:8; 9:6). “The Lord GOD of hosts, The One who touches the land so that it melts, And all those who dwell in it mourn, And all of it rises up like the Nile And subsides like the Nile of Egypt” (Amos9:5). When Jesus’ disciples asked Jesus about the signs of the end time, Jesus answered, “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs” (Matt 24:7-8). A national conflict that started in Tunisia in Northern Africa earlier this year spread to Egypt and now Libya where it has reached such a serious point that UN forces are intervening for them. The explosion of Shinmoedake volcano in Miyajaki of West Japan, the earthquake of 6.3 magnitude in New Zealand on Feb 22, and finally to this big earthquake in Japan, all speak of the prophecies of Jesus Christ. After the quake, there was a shortage of food and fuel which were not supplied to the emergency shelters in time. Watching that the pregnant or nursing women were in even more a difficult situation among the disaster victims, I recalled Jesus’ regretful comment, “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!” in Matthew24:19.
What was worse, since a cold wave hit right after the earthquake, victims suffered in unheated rooms. Electrical power was stopped in metropolitan areas due to the unplanned power outage after the destruction of the nuclear power plant. Gas stations and grocery markets were closed. People could not buy oil and necessities. Then I realized the pulse and meaning of what Jesus said in Matthew 24:20, “But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath.”

Japan has lost their families, relatives, and neighbors from this disaster and has fallen into deep sorrow. When Pilate mixed the blood of Galileans with their sacrifice and 18 people died when the tower in Siloam fell on them and killed them, Jesus said “they were not greater sinners than all other Galileans, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:1-5). He meant that disasters are not meant for worse sinners, but for calling men to their repentance. Jesus said that a neighbor to the man who fell into robbers' hands was a Samaritan, not a priest or Levite (Luke 10:29-37). A true neighbor is someone who embraces the needy with mother’s love, regardless of their position or social status. With troublesome historical memories, it is not easy for Korea to bear unconditional love for Japan. However, Japan is now facing the most difficult time since post World War II reconstruction. At this moment, it is time for Korea to reach out to Japan spiritually as well as materially. I pray that Japan will also realize that man cannot solve this problem and that they will open their hearts to be more interested in spiritual matters. I also earnestly pray that more people in Japan will learn about the existence of the God who moves heaven and earth, and through their belief that they may be fully blessed with the power and comfort of God who is in charge of all things around us.
In Hosea 6:1, He said "Come, let us return to the LORD For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.” In Isaiah 19:22 He said, “The LORD will strike Egypt, striking but healing; so they will return to the LORD, and He will respond to them and will heal.” His voice also tells us in Isaiah 30:18 that “Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you For the LORD is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him.” Also, God said that He gives salvation to those who cries out to the LORD in humble manner, saying that “Therefore He humbled their heart with labor; They stumbled and there was none to help. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses,” in Psalm 107:12-13. Through this experience, I feel that the End is coming closer. Yet in Mattew 24:7-12, God said that nation rising against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and famines and earthquakes in various places are merely the beginning of birth pangs. He also said that through tribulation, believers will be killed and be hated by all nations, many will hate one another, many false prophets will arise and will mislead many, and most people's love will grow cold. The world in the future will get even more fierce and chaotic.
However, God said that “the one who has endured to the end will be saved, and the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Although this world is evil itself, it will not be the end of the world until the Gospel is preached to the whole world.
God lets us know that the gospel of salvation will be spread to all over the world and God's plan toward mankind for salvation will be fulfilled in the end. Therefore, the end is not the end of the world, but it is the completion of God's history of redemption & the beginning of the new world. Then how strong should the faith of the believers be in the end times, and how important the mission is of the believers who will risk tribulation and death for the sake of the Word being spread to the world. In the end time, the master will come and bless the servant who gave his household their food at the proper time (Mattew 24:45-46). I pray that the believers of Pyungkang Cheil Church, who through the history of Redemption Series have learned God's Word brighter than others will be fearless in believing the Word of the Bible and accomplish the mission of evangelizing the heavenly gospel to all nations. Moreover, when false prophets arise to tempt many people, the believers who know and believe every single word of God's history of redemption will not moved by these false prophets. Rather they will lead many souls to the upright Word of God by taking leading roles in God’s history of redemption. I believe and pray earnestly that when God’s great plan of redemption stands firm and will be fulfilled in the end in this ever darkening world of sin, He will wipe away every tear from our eye and lead us to the new world without any death, mourning, crying, or pain.