Why the Tsunami?

January 7, 2005

This is the question many in the both affected countries and throughout in the world are asking. There is no obvious, simple answer, at least to this writer. On one hand we must not presume to know the mind of God when it has not been clearly revealed. One the other hand, we should try to think soberly and accurately about these events to see if there are lessons are to be learned.

Merely a Natural Disaster?

Some view the disaster as a merely natural disaster. The Indian Plate finally slid beneath the Burma Microplate, releasing years of enormous pent-up pressure and causing a 9.0 magnitude earthquake. Its force has been compared to that of a million atomic bombs. The result was the tsunami of December 26, 2005.

Such an explanation may be accurate as far as it goes, but it is unsatisfying because it merely a superficial physical explanation. It is a lot like describing a speech through a physical description of sound waves. Accurate, but it misses the point. It does not reckon with the fact that Almighty God is sovereign over the entire universe and over history. Nothing can happen unless he causes it or permits it.

The Result of Demonic Activity?

A second possibility is some or all natural disasters are caused by demonic spirits. An example of this occurs in the book of Job. One of Job’s tests came as the result of what we would call a natural disaster brought about through Satan. Satan argued that Job would curse God if afflicted him instead of blessing him. God then permitted Satan to afflict him but not to take his life.

…yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” (Job 1:18-19).

God’s Judgment?

One of the consequences of the Fall of man was that creation itself was blighted. After God cursed the Devil and the woman for the disobeying him, he said “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field” (Genesis 3:17-18). The disorder and futility evident in the created order can be traced back to the fall.

Similarly, the flood of the ancient world was God’s judgment against sin. “Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, ‘I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an ark of cypress wood…’” (Genesis 6:12-14). God judged the ancient world in justice, but he also made a way of escape in his mercy.

God also destroyed Pharaoh’s army as it pursued God’s people. He had parted the Red Sea to allow the Israelites into the promised land, but destroyed the entire Egyptian army as the waters as they attempted to destroy God’s people, as recorded in Exodus 14.

Since this disaster happened right off the coast of Indonesia and that nation had by far the greatest number of casualties, some are asking whether or not that nation has done anything to provoke God’s anger. Some clerics in Indonesia and elsewhere are saying that God is angry with Indonesians for failing to comply with the prevalent religion in Sumatra. Many Indonesians believe that according to an article in the January 5, 2004 Washington Post and elsewhere.

If this were true, we would expect greater disasters among the billions who neither accept nor obey the teachings of that religion. But no disaster of this magnitude has fallen on those who do not accept that religion. Furthermore, some nations which have made the greatest efforts to comply with that religion have have suffered very greatly in recent years through natural and other disasters. For example, on December 26, 2003, 40,000 lost their lives in an earthquake in Iran. Afghanistan has also endured decades of disorder and disaster. I've never heard anyone accuse the Afghans of not being zealous enough for their religion!

If the tsunami were a judgment from God, there may well be a very different reason for it. Could it be the result of misplaced zeal, rather than the result of a lack of zeal? Might it be that Indonesia’s record of persecuting Christians had something to do with it? Radicals have murdered thousands of Christians there. See the record at persection.org. One group conducted a series of church bombings on Christmas Eve, 2000 as Christians worshiped God. In December 2004, police found many bombs that evidently had been prepared for attacks on Christians on Christmas day. That group alone has been responsible for the murder of thousands of Christians. To dishonor Almighty God —the God of the Bible—and to murder those he loves when they are honoring him is neither pleasing to God nor wise:

If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple (I Corinthians 3:17).

Those who persecute and murder Christians, whom God has loved and for whom God has given his Son, would do well to consider whom they are provoking:

The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on his foes and maintains his wrath against his enemies. The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm…The mountains quake before him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, the world and all who live in it. Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before him. The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him, but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh; he will pursue his foes into darkness (Nahum 1:2-8).

We must be careful in seeing this disaster merely as a judgment against those who have murdered God’s people. Many children died, along with many others who had nothing to do with Indonesia’s persecution of Christians. We do well to remember God's ways are far above our ways and our understanding. Furthermore, Jesus warns against thinking those who suffer disaster do so because they are worse sinners than we are:

Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them - do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” (Luke 13:1-5).

Jesus' message is that the victims of disasters are not necessarily worse sinners than we are. All of us have sinned, so we must all repent or perish, Jesus taught.

God’s Purpose in History

God has a purpose in history and no power in heaven or on earth can thwart it. He has purposed to redeem a people for himself through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ for the sake of his glory. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the means by which God has redeemed a people for himself. And the Good News of the Kingdom of God is the means by which that redemption will be made available to people of every tribe and nation and tongue. This message is critically important “for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Jesus said “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). Those nations and groups which seek to hamper the advance of the Gospel will find themselves attempting to fight with Almighty God.

For non-Christians

God sent the Lord Jesus Christ into the world to die on the cross and rise again so that through faith in him we might be saved. The tsunami is a picture of the coming judgment. All of us have sinned against our holy creator. Yet He is gracious and compassionate and is not willing that any should perish. Therefore he calls all to repent and to believe in the Messiah he has sent.

Even in the midst of the present disaster, the Lord was present and active, saving those he loves just he was in the days of Noah. For example, in Navalady, Sri Lanka a Christian missionary named Dayalan Sanders started a small orphanage for 28 children on the coast. While they were preparing to worship, one of the little orphans saw the raging tsunami coming. Amazingly, they managed to get all the children into their boat. Normally, he removed the motor from his boat, but that night with all the Christmas celebrations, they did not. Even though the motor usually took several pulls to start, on this day it started with one pull. Not a single child was lost even though the boat took a direct hit from the huge wave. Mr. Sanders gives the God of the Bible the glory. During the tsunami, he said “Be calm. God is with us. Nothing will ever harm us without his permission.” More about God’s deliverance of the Samaritan’s Children’s Home

A disaster far greater than the tsunami is coming. It too will be sudden, unexpected, catastrophic and final. It will be much worse. Its scale will be universal rather than just regional and its consequences will be eternal and not just temporal. But God has provided a way of escape for those who have ears to hear. Just as he provided an ark for those who would believe him, he has provided the Messiah as the way of escape from the coming wrath. Just as he saved the orphans, he will save you if you will turn to him in faith and repentance. He promises to do so and he is not a man that he can lie.

God has graciously loved us in spite of our sins. He has sent the Messiah to die in our place. He offers forgiveness, reconciliation and new life as gifts. Like all gifts, this salvation must be received to be possessed. We receive it by repentance and faith. Repentance means we turn from all we know to be wrong and faith means we shift from relying on our own efforts or anything else and trust in Christ alone and in his sacrifice for our salvation.

For more about God’s gracious gift of salvation, see Good News and for Muslim friends, see True Islam. Also, you can hear more about the Good News in 200 languages at Every Nation Under Heaven. Just click through to your home country and then select an audio message in your language.

For Christians

An Opportunity to Demonstrate the Gospel

In view of God’s great redemptive plan in history, regardless of the cause of the tsunami, God has provided an opportunity to demonstrate the Gospel by doing what we can to bring relief to the victims in the love of Christ. Christian relief organizations, such as World Vision, are bringing practical help to the victims by providing water, food and medicine and through child sponsorship programs. For many disaster relief efforts, the biggest problem is distribution. World Vision has an advantage here as it has been serving in the region since 1950 and has thousands of national workers in place. Some of these workers have reportedly taken victims into their homes.

If you would like to make a donation through World Vision, please click donations.

A Mandate to Proclaim the Gospel

The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded us to preach the gospel to and make disciples of all nations. Reaching Muslims with the Gospel can be very difficult, but it is not difficult for God. All over the world, the good seed of the Gospel is being planted in Muslim lands. In due time, this good seed will inevitably bear fruit. All over the world, Muslims have come to believe in Christ, many through supernatural visions, dreams and encounters. You can read some of the stories of Muslims who have come to Christ are at Answering-Islam.org.

The Muslim world is about where China was several decades ago in relation to the advance of the Kingdom of God. There were few missionaries and few converts at first. The after the communist revolution, the missionaries were expelled and one of the most brutal campaigns of persecution against the Church was begun. The cause of Christianity seemed hopeless, at least from a worldly standpoint. Except for one thing: the purpose of Almighty God is to bring the Gospel to every tribe and nation and tongue. Today there are about 95 million Chinese Christians and 19,000 Chinese are coming into the Kingdom of God every day!

Some of the best material on Muslim evangelism is available at Sharing Christ with Muslims. It explains how many Muslims come to faith in the context of a close relationship. To effectively share the Gospel with Muslim friends we must love them, pray for them and be filled with the Holy Spirit. We also need to be able to patiently explain to them about the five spiritual truths they have been taught to doubt.

The truth is we do not know for certain why the tsunami came. At least I don't. But we do know that the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords foretold there would be earthquakes as one of the signs of the end of the age:

Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains (Matthew 24:7,8)

Earthquakes are reminders that life in this world is temporary and that we are living in what the Bible calls the last days. They are like birth pains of the coming Kingdom of God. The last days began when Christ ascended back to heaven and poured out his Spirit on his people on the day of Pentecost. They will end when he returns in great power and glory to consummate his great redemptive plan in history. On that day, everyone will give an account of his life to the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 25:31-46). God grant us grace to prepare for that day, and to avoid the coming cataclysm through our Lord Jesus Christ.

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