Earthquake, Prophecy, and Readiness

On August 10, a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia near San José del Palmar, Chocó. The shaking reached much of the country. Manizales, Pereira, Cali, and other cities suffered damage. Rescue workers spent days searching broken buildings. More than 270 people died.

Behind the death count are people. Families lost loved ones. Many people lost homes, work, safety, and sleep. Christians should pray for them, give help when they can, and speak to suffering people with mercy. Their pain is not material for a prophecy chart.

The earthquake also brought a flood of claims on social media. One video featured a man from Medellín who calls himself Prophet Simón. After the June 24 earthquakes in Venezuela, he said that Colombia would have the next earthquake. He called the earthquakes God's punishment for idolatry and sin. After the August 10 disaster, his video spread across TikTok and Instagram. Many viewers said he had predicted the earthquake.

He did say Colombia before the earthquake. He did not give a day, a magnitude, a town, or an epicenter. He did not name San José del Palmar or Chocó. Colombia is a country where earthquakes are known to happen. A general warning can look exact after an earthquake occurs.

On August 11, Simón spoke again. He named Mexico, California, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Chile, and Peru. He spoke about a worldwide earthquake, a blood moon, and a time when gravity would disappear. His growing list of claims gives Christians good reason to reject him as a reliable prophet. Israel was never told to follow every person who claimed a message from heaven. God told Israel to test such claims.

Some people in Manizales and other places have also spoken of dreams. A dream may feel real. A person may remember it with great emotion after a terrible event. Fear and grief do not turn a dream into a message from God. No Christian should call a dream a prophecy without clear reason from the word of God.

Jesus said, “If they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or, ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it” (Matthew 24:26). His return will not need a secret dream, a video, or someone on the street to explain it. It will be open for all to see.

God has not told us why every person dies in a disaster. Jesus spoke about people killed when the tower of Siloam fell (Luke 13:4-5). He did not say they were worse sinners than other people in Jerusalem. He told His hearers to repent. An earthquake should make us think about death, judgment, and our own need to be right with God. We have no right to name every victim as the target of a special punishment from God.

Matthew 24

Jesus left the temple, and His disciples spoke to Him about its buildings. He told them that not one stone would be left upon another (Matthew 24:1-2). The disciples asked Him about that warning. His answer speaks of wars, famines, earthquakes, persecution, false christs, and the abomination of desolation.

Jesus gave a clear instruction to people in Judea. When they saw the sign He named, they were to flee (Matthew 24:15-16). They could act on those words. A Christian in Colombia, Texas, or California cannot flee Judea because a new earthquake appears on a phone.

Jesus said, “The end is not yet” after speaking of wars and rumors of wars (Matthew 24:6). He called famines and earthquakes “the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:8). He also said, “This generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place” (Matthew 24:34). Jerusalem was destroyed in the first century, just as He warned.

Verse 36 reads, “But of that day and hour no one knows.” Jesus speaks of a day that no man can mark on a calendar. He compares it to the days of Noah. People will be eating, drinking, marrying, and working. His coming will surprise them like a thief in the night (Matthew 24:36-44). Paul uses the same picture in 1 Thessalonians 5:2. Peter uses it in 2 Peter 3:10.

Jesus told us to watch because we do not know the day of His return.

Earthquakes and the news

Colombia has suffered destructive earthquakes before. Its history includes the Ecuador-Colombia earthquake in the nineteenth century, the 1906 earthquake and tsunami, the 1979 Tumaco earthquake, the 1983 Popayán earthquake, the 1994 Páez disaster, and the 1999 coffee region earthquake. Other countries in Latin America have suffered terrible earthquakes as well. The world has always known earthquakes.

Earthquakes come when the earth's plates move and faults break under pressure. A great deal of the damage depends on where the shaking occurs, the kind of buildings people are in, how well those buildings were made, and how soon help reaches the injured. Prayer belongs beside practical preparation.

People today hear about earthquakes almost as soon as they happen. Phones show maps, videos, warnings, and death counts within minutes. The United States Geological Survey says that better instruments and better communication account for much of the increase in recorded earthquakes. It locates about 20,000 earthquakes a year, about 55 a day. Most are small or occur far from people.

A busy week of news can make people think the earth has suddenly changed. People have always lived with death, war, storms, fallen buildings, and failing bodies. Jesus said there would be hard days. He did not teach His people to fear every headline.

Be ready now

After a disaster, people say the name of the Lord. They pray in the street. They call relatives. They think about dying. Some had not thought about eternity for years. Trouble can wake a person up.

But trouble passes from the front page. The roads reopen. Families return to work. The prayer made in fear can disappear. A person may use the Lord's name in an emergency and then go back to living as if He has no claim on him.

Jesus calls us to be ready before the ground moves. He calls us to hear the gospel, believe Him, turn from sin, confess Him, be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, and remain faithful. His command has already been given.

Pray for Colombia. Help the people who are suffering. Test every claim that says, “God told me.” Keep your eyes on Christ, not on the latest voice online. “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44).