Apocalyptic prophecies? Natural disasters have some people thinking about last days

Tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes. In the past year, calamities have struck countries around the world — and more disasters will come in the last days, according to the Scriptures.

"And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great." (Revelation 16:18).

Revelation 6:12 also mentions another "great earthquake" before the sun becomes black and the moon becomes as blood.

But to what degree should such apocalyptic prophecies influence where and how we live?

In light of the 2004 tsunami that hit Asia and the hurricanes that devastated America's Southeast coastal regions last year, is it biblically wise, for example, to live in coastal areas?

And what about the Wasatch Fault, a quake-prone region from southern Idaho to Nephi, with its own potential for a major disaster?

While most church leaders have always stressed it is more important how we live, rather than where we live, isn't common sense also a vital part of our God-given existence? To what extent do we correlate our lives to prophecies of the last days?

"You need to have reverence for nature," the Rev. Art Ritter of Salt Lake's First Congregational Church said.

He's not advising a fear of God but rather a respect for his power.

"We think we're in control," he said, stressing that it is God who is really in charge.

The Rev. Ritter also says he's not one who firmly believes recent natural disasters are part of the apocalypse.

"Place the book of Revelation in its historical context," he said.

Still, he acknowledges that while it may not be wise to have a city like New Orleans built below sea level, it does show the strong resolve of man in making that work for all these years.

The Rev. Tom Goldsmith of the First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City is another whose faith does not believe that all of the Bible is literal — especially in regard to the book of Revelation.

"Life is a matter of faith," he said. "You never know what will happen. . . . We can't always control the odds."

The Rev. Goldsmith says a good example of that involves a woman who was run over while standing on a safety traffic island. She was where she was supposed to be, and yet the accident happened.

You can't live your life in a bubble, the Rev. Goldsmith says, but you also shouldn't be self-absorbed with potential catastrophes.

"Balance risk with prudence," he said, and use common sense.

The Rev. Goldsmith also says Christ's metaphorical advice about building a house on a solid foundation (Matthew 7:24-27) may apply in a literal sense, too.

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