A Warning of What is to Come

A Warning of What is to Come In February 1983, forest fires devastated the hills of two states of Australia, South Australia and Victoria, leaving at least 71 people dead and 8000 homeless. The damage caused was estimated at £400 million. Detective-Chief Inspector Bob Potts was one of the many volunteers who helped in the rescue work. For a day and a night, he fought the fire in temperatures of 108 degrees and winds of 40 knots. This is how Bob Potts described his impressions: “We are full of stories, but what I will recall is the sense of inadequacy. It was man versus nature, and although it may sound dramatic, no amount of resources would have helped. Nature overwhelmed us.” Some of the homeless, however, saw the matter less dispassionately. Lyn Lamshed, whose house was burnt down, had this to say: “I do cry and I do feel anger, but most of the time I just feel empty. We never thought this would happen. This is a low-risk fire area.” These two contrasting reactions are typical of the different concepts concerning the disasters which afflict man in this world. The first attitude is that which has been taught by the Prophets, and the second that of the philosophers. The Prophets taught that worldly catastrophes like earthquakes, forest fires, droughts, and hurricanes are a sign of God; they are nature’s warning of the more immense catastrophe which is going to overtake us in the hereafter. When such calamities strike in this world, man is helpless before the might of nature. How much more helpless he will be before God when He appears in all His might and glory in the next world. On that day the curtain that obscures our vision of realities will be drawn back and they will be plain to see. In this world a crack sometimes opens in the curtain and we are given a glimpse of the realities which will be fully visible in the hereafter. This happens so that we may take heed and prepare for that day before it is upon us.