WERE THE RECENT TORNADOS GOD'S JUDGMENT?

In September of 2005, the world was shocked as Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans and overwhelmed much of the Gulf Coast. Within days there were reports all over the Internet that the devastating storm was a sign of God’s judgment on the city of New Orleans. I was appalled at the judgmental attitude of many of the so-called “prophetic” pronouncements. One friend told me that he believed God was judging the homosexual community of New Orleans’ famed French Quarter. I responded that God must have lousy aim, because the storm and its aftermath did not devastate the French Quarter or Bourbon Street but, rather, the nearby Lower Ninth Ward. I added that if we followed his line of thinking, God must really dislike the poor and elderly because they were the ones who suffered most.

Following Hurricane Sandy and the recent outbreak of storms in Texas and Oklahoma, again there has been a flood of “voices of judgment” declaring that God is judging America’s sins. If God were really judging America’s sins by a natural disaster, do you honestly think He would start in Moore, OK, and miss the over-ripe targets of New York City; Washington, DC; San Francisco; Hollywood?

Below is the main part of the very first blog article that I wrote in September of 2005 in response to the prophetic statements that Hurricane Katrina was a sign of God’s judgment.

Was Hurricane Katrina a sign of God’s judgment on New Orleans?

The simple answer is NO, it was not judgment! If God were judging the sin of this city then He owes Sodom and Gomorrah an apology. In Genesis 18:32 God said that if there were only ten (10) righteous people in Sodom, He would not destroy it. There were not ten and God did destroy it. In contrast, New Orleans has been home to tens of thousands of believers. I have personally been to several very fine and thriving churches in New Orleans and its suburbs. New Orleans is no more lacking in a community of believers than any other city in America.

If Hurricane Katrina was not God judging New Orleans then what was it?

In Matthew 24:3 Jesus is asked by His disciples, “What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?” (ESV). In the next few verses Jesus lays out the following as signs of the end and His return: Deception will be rampant; there will be false Christs and false religions in abundance; wars, rumors of wars; famines; and earthquakes in a diversity of places. 

Jesus then said in verse 8, “All these are but the beginning of the birth pains” (ESV). In the King James Version and several other translations, the word for birth pains is “sorrows.” The meaning of “sorrows” is that the pains will come with an increasing intensity and an ever-shortening amount of time between each contraction (pain) until the delivery takes place.

Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami in South Asia, earthquakes in a diversity of places, tornados across America — these are all a part of God’s wake-up call to those who will listen.

Mark 13 is a parallel passage to Matthew 24. In Mark 13:8 Jesus answers the disciples’ same question as in Matthew with the same list and the statement regarding “birth pains.” And then in Mark, Jesus says this: “Be on your guard” (Mark 13:9, ESV). People who are “on guard” are alert, discerning, prepared; they are not going to be caught unaware. 

I believe that Katrina was one of the “sorrows” Scripture speaks of and there will be more. When I see the devastation covering such a huge geographic area, I am deeply moved. As a family we helped financially. But there was also a spiritual dimension to it all and I found myself being irritated at those who like to be called prophets and who quickly pronounced judgment on New Orleans (from the safety of their home or hotel room many hundreds of miles away). As I tried to understand this disaster of a geographic size we had not seen in America before, I came to the conclusion that this was not judgment but was a definite sign pointing us to the increasing nearness of Christ’s return and the end of the age.

It is time to be alert, to be open and transparent with the Lord. Most likely there will be more “sorrows” even worse than Katrina. God’s people who are “on guard” will be walked by God’s Spirit through those difficult times and will experience His grace and peace in fresh new ways. We are not to be fearful but we are to be faithful and faith-filled; we are not to be slumbering but instead we are to be alert and focused on Him who can keep us in the midst of the fire, the flood, the hurricane, the earthquake. God’s people who are “on guard” are ready to step in and help in any way they can: through prayer, through giving and through personal involvement in caring for the hurting.