The prophetic significance of Japan's earthquake

After the game
The Daily Jot

Daily reporting and analysis of current events from a biblical and prophetic perspective.


Monday, March 14 2011



The prophetic significance of Japan's earthquake



On March 11 Japan was hit with the most intense earthquake in its recorded history. This event alone has tremendous prophetic significance and it should serve as a solemn warning to the United States. The fulfillment of prophecy is at times like peeling off layers of an onion. Some events are a type and shadow of what is to come, while others take you to the real core. The prophetic implications of the devastating Japan earthquake is a little bit of both. First, in Matthew 24:7-8, Jesus said, "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." This is obvious, but there is more.



These were events that Jesus warned us would be signs of the end times. When we see these ancient kingdoms in the Middle East having internal turmoil and threats of wars, we look to the prophecies to determine where we are at in the continuum of prophecy. Major natural disasters are another benchmark. We as watchmen try to discern why that particular area at this specific time. When this earthquake occurred, I wondered deeply why Japan. At the same time, I thought of the prophecies of Israel and how they may impact Japan. A central prophecy regarding Israel goes back to Genesis 12:3 where the Lord told Abraham, "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curses thee."



A particular end time prophecy, speaking at its core about the Day of the Lord, but one that we can say comes often in layers is Zechariah 12:3 where the Lord says, "And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it." On March 11, the day of the earthquake, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs released this statement: The Government of Japan deplores the decisions of the Government of Israel to give permission for the construction of 1,600 housing units in East Jerusalem...Japan demands that the plans should not be implemented."



This was the first time Japan used such strong language about Israeli settlements. The earthquake should also serve as a warning to the US president, whose State Department March 13th condemned Israeli plans to build 500 new West Bank homes as "illegitimate." Within 48 hours after President George W Bush substantially pressured Ariel Sharon into forcing Jewish settlers from Gaza in August 2005, the first signs of Katrina were swirling in the ocean. Naysayers believe these are unrelated coincidence, but watchmen see them from the lens of Biblical prophecy. Jesus also said in Matthew 24, "see that you be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet." More to come.

Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!
Bill Wilson
Word of Life Ministry