"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows."
-Matthew 24:7-8

What in the world is going on with the earth?  The number of major earthquakes that we are experiencing is absolutely unprecedented.  So just what in blazes is going on?

Well, the reality is that Yahshua (Jesus) told us that there would be earthquakes in the last days.  He told us that this would be a sign that His return was getting closer.  In fact, the earthquakes and the other signs of His coming are supposed to be like birth pains - getting stronger and more intense as we get closer to the day.

And the truth is that earthquakes certainly are getting stronger and more intense.  Just consider the following examples from just this year....

*On January 12th, Haiti was devastated by a magnitude-7.0 earthquake that claimed the lives of over 200,000 people.

*On February 27th, Chile was rocked by a magnitude-8.8 earthquake that was one of the largest in recorded history.

*A pre-dawn 5.9-magnitude earthquake collapsed homes and killed more than 50 people in a mountainous region of southeastern Turkey on Monday.

*Seven intense aftershocks hit Chile on Friday morning, including one that measured 6.6 on the Richter scale.

*The city of Taiwan experienced a 6.4 magnitude earthquake on Thursday.

*Japan is bracing for the worst after dozens of rare giant oarfish - traditionally the harbinger of a powerful earthquake- have been washed ashore or caught in fishermen's nets.

*The Irazú volcano in Costa Rica sent panic through neighboring communities recently, as residents reported at least 9 tremors from the volcano during one 30 minute period.

*The U.S. has not even been exempt from the recent spate of earthquakes either.  A 4.6-magnitude earthquake early Saturday morning off the northern California coast rattled residents in that region.

Things are getting crazy out there.  In fact, I would not want to be living in California right about now.  Scientists tell us that they are way overdue for a major earthquake.

But the truth is that there will be very few places that are totally safe before this is all over.  People who think that they are safe because they live in the middle of the United States might want to check to make sure that they don't live in the New Madrid fault zone.  There are many scientists who believe that an absolutely massive earthquake will completely rip up that region one day.

Plus, anyone who lives on any coast in these days and times is at risk for a tsunami.  The reality is that the earth is packed with major fault lines and volcanos and so the areas that are "completely safe" are very few and far between.

Unfortunately, it is likely that geological activity will continue to only get worse as we get even closer to the return of Yahshua. 

But for those of us who know the Lord, this world is not our home.  We belong to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and it is in Him that we will find our refuge.

"And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven."
-Luke 21:11

The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that has essentially destroyed the nation of Haiti has refocused attention on the prophecies about earthquakes in the last days that we find in the Scriptures.  Yahshua (Jesus) told us that we would see an increase in earthquakes as we approached His coming and that this would be a clear sign that the end times was at hand.  Could the unusual shaking that we are currently seeing around the world be an indication that we are approaching the time prophesied almost 2000 years ago?

You see, unfortunately the Haiti earthquake is not an isolated incident.  2010 is already a banner year for major earthquakes.

For example, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake shook the ocean floor between South America and Antarctica on Sunday.

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit Guatemala's Pacific coast near the border with El Salvador on Monday, but fortunately it did not do much damage.

There have already been five magnitude 6.0 or greater earthquakes in the area of the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean so far in 2010.

The annual average of worldwide earthquakes measuring 6.0 or greater is 152.  If the current pace continues, we will see 260 in 2010.

The earth is shaking my friends.

But aren't we safe from such things in most areas of the United States?

Well, no.

U.S. scientists are predicting that a Haiti-magnitude earthquake will strike along the New Madrid fault in the U.S. some time during the next 50 years.

In 1811, an earthquake along the New Madrid fault was so powerful that it "shook windows and furniture in Washington, D.C., rang bells in Richmond, Virginia, sloshed well water and shook houses in Charleston, South Carolina, and knocked plaster off of houses in Columbia, South Carolina."

At that time the area of the New Madrid fault was not heavily populated, so the damage was somewhat minimized.  But if a true "killer quake" were to strike along the New Madrid fault now, it could devastate an area all the way from Chicago down to the mouth of the Mississippi River.

But the New Madrid fault is not the only area of the U.S. that is a concern.

The truth is that residents of California live in perpetual anticipation of a major earthquake, and a flurry of recent earthquake activity all over that state is raising concerns that California could be the next spot to be hit by the Big One. 

In fact, a very large number of small earthquakes have been reported all over the state of California in the last 7 days.

So will California be hit by a "killer quake" any time soon?

Let's hope not.

But scientists are essentially guaranteeing that one will hit that state during our lifetimes.

The Los Angeles Times recently reported on the "Uniform California Earthquake Rupture Forecast" which was released in 2007.  That report says that California has a 99.7% chance of a 6.7 magnitude earthquake within 30 years.

A 99.7 percent chance?

Ouch.

While most buildings in California would survive a 7.0 earthquake better than most buildings in Haiti did, the truth is that California may eventually see a killer earthquake that is far, far more powerful than the one that Haiti just witnessed.

In fact, there are those who theorize that a truly massive quake could permanently alter the geography of California.

Seriously.

And if we are to take the words of Yahshua (Jesus) seriously (and we should), then we are only going to see an increase in the frequency and severity of global earthquakes from here on out.

So get ready.

A shaking is coming.