Apocalypse Soon- the Great Shakeup

My summers give me time (some might say too much time) to delve into books. This summer I became interested in lining up the many many Scripture references to latter times. I am trying to categorize the Scripture references to specific areas to make it easier to understand. Even though I knew I was undertaking a very large project I felt that the benefits would be manifold and perhaps life challenging.

Though the study is barely begun, I have noticed one factor, emphasized, which deserves an advance talk: that of earthquakes. My preliminary studies suggest that there may be no other single factor which authors of Scripture, over a thousand year span of time, saw fit to emphasize quite so much. Isaiah, many minor prophets, and John all have foreseen the same thing: earthquakes that come in such a violent degree so as to be incomparable in history.

As I start this series, I hope first to abide by one simple rule: let the Scriptures speak for themselves. As I list the Scriptures below (all from the New International Version), please do keep in mind that they reflect a beginning study from the viewpoint of just a public school teacher. There are many many more verses which describe the great shakeup.


There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.
Luke 21:25,26

19 Men will flee to caves in the rocks
and to holes in the ground
from dread of the LORD
and the splendor of his majesty,
when he rises to shake the earth.
Isaiah 2:19

21 They will flee to caverns in the rocks
and to the overhanging crags
from dread of the LORD
and the splendor of his majesty,
when he rises to shake the earth.
Isaiah 2:21

17 Terror and pit and snare await you,
O people of the earth.
18 Whoever flees at the sound of terror
will fall into a pit;
whoever climbs out of the pit
will be caught in a snare.
The floodgates of the heavens are opened,
the foundations of the earth shake.
19 The earth is broken up,
the earth is split asunder,
the earth is thoroughly shaken.
20 The earth reels like a drunkard,
it sways like a hut in the wind;
so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion
that it falls—never to rise again.
21 In that day the LORD will punish
the powers in the heavens above
and the kings on the earth below.
Isaiah 24: 17 - 21

16 The LORD will roar from Zion
and thunder from Jerusalem;
the earth and the sky will tremble.
But the LORD will be a refuge for his people,
a stronghold for the people of Israel.
Joel 3:16

12I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
The Revelation 6: 12 - 14

Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
The Revelation 8:5

At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
The Revelation 11: 13

18Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. 19The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. 20Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found.
The Revelation 16: 18 – 20

Summary Thoughts
These are my ramblings and not Scripture, but it seems evident even from my very incomplete list that the world is going to be experiencing the greatest series of earthquakes it has ever had. What will be the outcome of my own country, the United States?
If it is not already severely harmed by other judgments going on, it seems to me that the United States can expect, at a minimum, the following things:
1) Massive failure of dams and roads, ruining our infrastructure
2) Partial or complete failure of our power grid, cutting off electricity for most of our country
3) Levee failure, which along with the dams, will result in massive failure
4) Partial or total building collapse, similar to the San Francisco 1906 earthquake. Fires also are probable afterwards, destroying what is left intact.
5) Almost an instantaneous loss of world leadership, as the US would be totally engrossed with fixing its massive infrastructure problems.

Please note that these earthquakes will be worldwide, and the probable result, even if these were the only judgments of the apocolypse would be a greater devastation than recorded history has ever shown.

How shall we then escape?
1. In all periods of history, God requires one thing from his people: belief. The Bible says Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him as righteousness.
2. Pick up your dusty Bible, and begin in John. John 3:16 says that God loves the world and sent his son that we might be saved.
3. It is not necessary to understand all that God tells us in scripture; it is necessary to trust and believe that what he has told you is right.
4. Know that if you do find yourself caught in this judgment, that it is a judgment that is measured, and at the proper time will end. Perseverance is what God expects from you until the appointed end.