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NIV & Other Versions | Includes Commentary |
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Matthew 24:7 | Further Study |
Mark 13:8 | Further Study |
Luke 21:11 | Further Study |
Revelation 6:12; 8:5; 16:18-20
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Further Study |
Zechariah 14:3-5 | Further Study |
The current World Almanac lists known earthquakes from ancient times until the present. Obviously, they do not list all earthquakes because there are hundreds of little ones every year, and there is not as much scientific or historical data for events in the past as there is now. Some earthquakes have been very devastating. One in 526 AD in Antioch of Syria resulted in approximately 250,000 deaths.
It is interesting that there has been a constant escalation of the number of large earthquakes during this whole century, and especially since the middle of the century. There were about as many major earthquakes listed from 1900 to 1950 as there was in the entire period of time from 1525 to 1900. Then, from 1950 to the present there are more quakes listed than all the years before that. Before 1900 there was an average gap of 15 or 20 years between major quakes, but now there are several major quakes every year.
Earthquakes are caused by continental shifts, or movement of huge tectonic plates that "float" on the molten core of the earth. The Bible predicts that there will be huge earthquakes during The Tribulation period, leading up to one final upheaval that will literally reshape the geography of the earth, shaking down all the mountains, and sinking all the islands (Revelation 16:17-20). It is reasonable to expect a continual increase in seismic activity in the years leading up to "the big one."